


When in Rome...

by warriorblood1



Series: RESBANG/REVERB [2]
Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Albino Soul, Alternate Universe, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Gen, Maka Should Be Allowed To Swear Actually, Minor Body Horror, Minor Transphobia/Misgendering, Nonbinary Character, Other, Real World Locations, Resbang 2020, SoMa and the poly ship tagged seperately for a reason, Trans Character, Witches, also there are some manga aspects, its a glorified roadtrip tbh, post-anime canon, ships are pretty minor, there'll be some individual tws in certain chapters, yeehaw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:56:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 41,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29977026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warriorblood1/pseuds/warriorblood1
Summary: Three years after Asura’s defeat, life is going pretty well for Maka and her partners. Until, that is, a witch with mysterious magic appears and sends Maka into an unfamiliar world, where she is left with few allies and even fewer answers. As she searches for a way back home, Maka stumbles into discovery, and all of the trouble that comes with it.Secrets are being revealed and things aren't as black and white as they seem, and Maka's getting pretty tired of cleaning up other people's messes.
Relationships: Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans/Death the Kid/Black Star/Crona, Marie Mjolnir/Franken Stein, Spirit Albarn | Death Scythe/Maka Albarn's Mother
Series: RESBANG/REVERB [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148615
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Your Soul is Mine!

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome! to my second ever resbang! i'll be posting the chapters throughout today so!!! i hope you enjoy!!!! and yes the poly mess is something i actually ship bc im a loser

"Happy birthday to you," the group sang, out of sync and out of key. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Soul," the birthday boy in question got some affectionate touches at the mention, whether it be a friendly, but forceful, pat on the back from Patty, a kiss on the cheek from Maka, or a fierce hair-ruffling from Blackstar. "Happy birthday to you!"

With the final line, Soul blew out the candles on the homemade cake before him; eighteen and one to grow on. Finally, a legal adult. 

It was hard to believe that he had been fifteen when the kishin had been defeated, and it was  _ still  _ baffling that Maka, a year younger, had landed the final blow, splitting the deranged man into pieces with nothing but her fist and her own bravery.

His parting words still haunted them from time to time, as did the fact that he was Kid's brother, which they only learned  _ after _ enough people bothered Lord Death about it. Despite it all, they were all alive. They were all happy. That alone was cause for celebration.

In the three years since the kishin's defeat, there had been many other celebrations, much more impactful than a single weapon's 18th birthday. 

The first of which happened pretty much the second the group got home. According to Blackstar, Tsubaki, and the Thompson's, Kid's final attack on Asura was really something. They joked about how he was briefly completely symmetrical, and on the way back noticed that he was slightly more so than before; one of the stripes in his hair now went all the way around. Upon arriving in the Death Room, it was the first thing Lord Death addressed. 

The stripes were something unique to reapers, called something Soul didn't bother to remember, and once all three were connected, Lord Death would cease to be, and Kid would ascend to a full reaper. He was a third of the way there. While it was technically cause for celebration, Kid didn't want to dwell on it too much. Not only did he have no memory of that attack, he clearly didn't like the thought of his father leaving so soon.

Some time after the final battle, Marie announced that she was pregnant, and that her and Stein were getting married. Two months after the wedding, the couple had a baby boy, named Asger. Furthermore, the couple had adopted Crona, who was thrilled, if not very nervous, to be an older sibling. Ragnarok made at least one attempt to eat the baby.

Marie was currently pregnant again, and had been insistent that she would keep teaching until she couldn't stand anymore. She had retired from her death scythe duties, but she found a joy in teaching that she hated being away from. 

Another small celebration was the polyamor-mess made up of Soul, Maka, Crona, Kid, and Blackstar. The five of them had all been together for a year and a half now, and while it was a hassle to explain to people, they were happy, and none of them regretted it. 

The biggest celebration, however, was the tentative peace made between the DWMA and the witches. A year or so after the kishin's defeat, the Grand Witch, Maba, had a meeting with Lord Death, and in the end the conclusion was that the DWMA was free to hunt down witches who had been deemed dangerous to both parties, as most witches simply wanted to live normal lives rather than let madness rule the world. 

Top of the list were any and all witches associated with Medusa. Some of them, such as Eruka Frog and the immortal werewolf, Free, who had been the ones that directly revived the kishin, had yet to be found.

That being said, it was harder to become a death scythe now. It couldn't be  _ any  _ witch — it had to be a witch in the wrong. Which was fair, the whole group agreed, but a tad annoying when you were finally back up to ninety-nine kishin egg souls after almost five years and you just couldn't find a damn witch.

Soul knew that, despite how frustrated  _ he  _ was, Maka was even more so. In more recent years, she had been having some issues regarding her feelings about her mother, but she was still determined to create a Death Scythe more powerful than her father. Furthermore, they had come so close twice now, it had become more of a hassle than an adventure.

The rest of the group kept the two of them grounded. It would happen eventually. There was a new task force at the DWMA dedicated to tracking the witches on the Wanted list. The few witches within the school, such as Kim and, more recently, Angela, would supervise and make sure no one was trying to hunt down an innocent witch. Updates were given as they came; so far, Maka and Soul had just been plain unlucky.

But it wasn't something to dwell on now. With the candles blown out, the party could continue, and Blackstar and Patty were already prepared to tear the cake apart, and Ragnarok soon popped out to join them. 

Making the cake was a group effort, with the exception of Soul, of course - he’d been barricaded in his room, to prevent him from helping. Maka, Tsubaki, and Kid tried to come up with the perfect recipe, and once Soul was finally allowed out of his room, there were three cakes on the counter. No one could decide which to go with, so Soul said they should just stack them on top of each other and make it one cake, and so they did. Each layer was different, but none of them were bad. Maka had made the angel food layer, Kid the devil's food, and Tsubaki the red velvet. 

The cake was gone quicker than Soul had expected, likely due to the bottomless-pit-stomachs of a few members of the group, and as the party dwindled and people began to leave, he felt that this was the best birthday he'd had in a long time.

By the time the moon rose, the only people left in the house were the polycule (and presumably Blair, though Soul hadn't seen her in a while…), crowded together on the couch. It didn't look very comfortable, but there's nothing quite as soft and warm as being surrounded by those you love. 

There was an old Star Trek episode playing on the TV; at this point none of them were really sure who had put it on, but none of them were watching. Instead they were talking, sharing random nonsense that had happened at one point or another, with the occasional snide comment from Ragnarok when he bothered to show up. 

Kid was in the middle of recounting a time where him and Liz or Patty were constantly being mistaken for a couple, so the girls started carrying business cards that Patty made, which read "He's our Meister/Brother, asshole," when they were interrupted by a loud crash, followed by a cat screeching. 

Crona jumped, covering their ears, Blackstar fell off the couch and took Kid and Soul with him, and Maka, ever the one with the braincell, ran to the window, peeking her head out for any sign of trouble. Moments later, a cat with a large pointy hat jumped up to the windowsill, looking ruffled.

"Blair?" Maka asked, moving so she could enter the apartment. "Was that you? What happened?"

The cat jumped inside and with a puff of purple smoke, was no longer a cat, but a very angry-looking woman, thankfully fully-clothed. "Some lady in an alley down the street is looking for you. Tried to pull my tail off! Can you believe the  _ audacity?! _ " 

She flopped onto the now mostly-vacant couch, feet over the armrest, head in Crona's lap. Her expression turned from angry to sly as she continued, "I gave her a good clawing though, that's for sure. She won't be forgetting  _ me  _ for a while."

"I-I'm sorry you got hurt, Blair…" Crona kept their hands and arms close to their chest, clearly unsure of what to do about the catlady on their lap. 

Blair crossed her arms, looking up at them. "I'm alright, now. I just wish people would have some manners, you know?"

As Blair rambled about common courtesy and the boys untangled themselves on the floor, Maka looked back out the window to the street below. "You said she was looking for me…?"

The room fell quiet, and Blair sat up. "Oh. Yeah!" She fidgeted with her nails, nervous energy radiating through her wavelength. "She was muttering about a war, the Albarns and their allies, and a bunch of other crazy stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Maka had  _ that  _ look in her eyes. The look of gears turning, plans being made, and determination and curiosity kicking the braincell to the curb.

Blair stretched. "The universe or something? Time and space and that kind of crap."

Everything was still and Maka continued to look out the window. Finally, she blinked, turning away. "There's a person, maybe a block away. Something is off about their wavelength."

"Off how?" Kid asked, finally getting up from the floor and dusting himself off. He joined Maka at the window to look for himself. "I don't see anything amiss."

Maka shook her head. "I don't know, I can't explain it. There's just something wrong with it." There was a beat before she beelined for the door. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"Well, obviously I'm coming too!" Blackstar shouted, jumping up. "I can't let you outshine me if it's a threat!"

Crona was the first to join Maka at the door, pulling on a jacket with a determined and unafraid look in their eyes. "I trust you, Maka," they muttered. "We'll have your back."

Kid stepped in and adjusted Crona's jacket, a habit all of them had long since gotten used to, and spoke in a deceptively calm voice. "It's probably nothing," he said, more of an assurance to himself than anyone else. "Just… a drunk, or someone who got lost on their way home."

Finally, Soul put a hand on Maka's shoulder, prompting her to look back at him. He said nothing, instead giving her a confident, yet comforting, sharp-toothed grin. She smiled back at him, passing him his jacket, and opening the door. "We'll be back soon, Blair. Don't let the place get messier than it is, please."

Blair gave a mock-salute. "Yes, ma'am! And be safe!! She was a total weirdo!"

The door shut behind them, and the group walked through the chilly autumn night air towards the mysterious wavelength. It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.

Before they even spotted the woman, the area felt wrong. It seemed even colder, and everything felt frozen in a way greater than just ice. The streetlamp was out, the only source of light coming from a tall staff, held by a strangely-dressed woman.

Everything about her screamed witch. She wore a poofy dress, deep blue covered in gold stars, several belts of pocket watches, and a pointy hat, colored a blue so dark it almost looked black. Around her neck was a necklace that glowed slightly, in the shape of a human soul. Her staff was a tall and twisted branch, and at the top there was the same pendant as her necklace, but bigger, and brighter. She muttered to herself, pacing around, occasionally stopping and staring into space before returning to her pacing and muttering.

Up close, those with soul perception saw more clearly that her soul appeared to be just that of a human, but there was something off, like Maka had said. There was something different about it. If she was indeed a witch and was using soul protection, that could account for the difference, but something in Maka's gut told her that wasn't it. 

Stepping forward, Maka cleared her throat, and the woman jumped and looked at her. There was barely a second before her expression changed from surprise to confidence. Before any of the group could get a word in, she spoke.

"Miss Albarn! Or at least I figure that's your name by now… I was looking for you," she giggled, rocking on her heels. "It's been a while since we last met, I'm not surprised if you don't recognize me. I have changed quite a bit, but so have you! Look how short your hair is!"

"Who are you?" Soul asked, hesitant.

The woman bowed slightly. "My name is Vermea Versum, how are you on this lovely night?"

Maka crossed her arms. "I was fine, until my roommate came home saying a lunatic had attacked her."

"Then I'm afraid you have the wrong person," Vermea chuckled. "The only creature I could claim to have attacked tonight was a cat. It had a very lovely hat, but tragically got away," she shrugged, adjusting her own hat. "Anyway, I need-"

"That would be her," Maka interrupted, arms crossed.

"Oh." Vermea's face slid into a scowl. "So you were calling  _ me  _ a lunatic, huh?" She scoffed. "I don't know why I thought you'd be any different now."

"Where exactly do you know me from?" Maka returned the scowl wholeheartedly. "And why bother using soul protection if you're still going to dress like a witch? Nowadays witches are pretty all-or-nothing… unless they have something to hide."

Vermea stomped, growing angrier. "And now you're  _ accusing  _ me! Typical behavior, unbelievable." She continued muttering to herself, and Kid put a hand on Maka's shoulder.

"Maybe we should just take her into custody," he whispered. "She's definitely suspicious, but she doesn't seem to have  _ done  _ anything."

Maka didn't respond to Kid. Instead, she asked again, "How do you know me? When have we met?"

Vermea rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't remember."

"That's not an answer," Maka growled. "I'm losing my patience."

"Oh?  _ You're  _ losing your patience?" Vermea mocked. "Well, let me enlighten you, old friend. I lost mine a  _ long  _ time ago. Ever since Death started wanting that damn war!"

Vermea's eyes shone, as did her staff, and there was a sudden burst of power. She had released her soul protection. Not only was she a witch, but the strangeness of her wavelength persisted, significantly more intense.

The next thing Maka saw was a blast of blue-violet magic coming towards her, and she hit the deck, just barely avoiding the attack. She jumped back up, pissed, and held her hand out to her side.

"I don't recognize you, face or name," she began, as Soul transformed into her hand. "But seeing how you just attacked us, I'm willing to take the risk that you're on the wanted list."

With a swing, Soul's transformation was complete, and Maka prepared herself for battle. Crona summoned Ragnarok, who was very excited about the prospect of eating a witch’s soul, and Blackstar bounced in place, more than ready to fight a witch weaponless. Kid, also weaponless (and therefore somewhat unbalanced, in his opinion), was more apprehensive, but Maka knew he would help in any way he could. She only hoped none of them would hurt themselves too badly. 

A witch was a formidable foe. Countless meister-weapon pairs had died to witches in attempts to become death scythes. Maka had reminded Soul as much the first time they had come this far. He had written her off then; they were lucky Blair wasn't actually a witch.

But they were older now, Maka reminded herself. They've all grown, they all know better. Even Blackstar wasn't stupid enough to think he could take on a witch single-handed and without a weapon. He would be a big help, as would Kid, but the two would need defense. 

Vermea, after her initial attack, didn't make another. She stood, waiting for one of them to make a move. Specifically, she waited for Maka. Witch and meister were locked in a stare-down.

"I'll have you know that this isn't what I came here to do, but I'm not one to back down from a fight. If you're hesitant because it's illegal, you're both a coward  _ and  _ an idiot," Vermea spat, spinning her staff as it began to glow brighter. "Call that a universal constant."

There was a roar, and Blackstar went pummeling into the witch's side with his fists and his wavelength. It knocked her into a wall, causing her attack to miss completely, and hit a dumpster, which promptly changed in color and content. 

Enraged, Vermea wielded her staff like a bat and stuck Blackstar in the stomach. In his second of being winded, she grabbed a fistful of his hair, and the light from her necklace and staff grew brighter. 

Much to everyone's surprise, Blackstar let out a cry of pain, and there was a spot on his chest that seemed to glow as well. Not willing to let him get anymore hurt, Maka dashed forward, Soul and the ready, and aimed for the head. 

Vermea ducked, Maka instead cutting her hat to shreds, but she did let go of Blackstar, who kneeled on the ground, gasping. Maka pressed forward, swinging again and hitting her mark, on Vermea's shoulder, near her neck.

The witch seethed before swinging her staff and knocking Maka and Soul out of her way. She stood above them, spinning her staff, preparing for another attack. Maka slashed at Vermea's legs, causing her to jump back and giving Maka a chance to stand back up and gather her bearings.

Crona joined Maka, making sure she was okay before lunging towards the witch. A few attacks were blocked by her staff, but Crona was too quick, and soon many new wounds appeared across her body, opened by Ragnarok's shrieking blade.

As she was reeling from the attack, Kid and Blackstar swooped in with their respective martial arts skills to further incapacitate her. After Kid landed a particularly nasty hit to the back of her neck, Vermea kneeled on the ground, clinging desperately to her staff.

Kid tried to take it from her, or at least break it, prompting her to swing at him in a frenzy. In response, Blackstar shot in and decked her, in the formation to use his wavelength… but nothing came. The attack was a strong punch, nothing more. 

A familiar dread filled Maka's mind as she watched. The last time Blackstar hadn't been able to use his wavelength was years ago, during what could only be described as a depressive episode.

"But that can't be it," Soul piped up, following the same train of thought. "He did it just a minute ago, didn't he?"

The witch cackled as she dragged herself to her feet. As she planted her staff in the ground, there was a burst of energy, and the staff changed from blue to yellow.

In less time than it took to blink, everyone except Vermea went flying backwards, their bodies recoiling from the sudden energy shot into them. Maka barely registered Soul slipping out of her hands, and couldn't hear the clatter of metal over the ringing in her ears. Faintly, she thought that the energy felt oddly familiar.

Crona, however, was easily in the worst shape. Ragnarok had retreated, and they were coughing up blood. As Maka struggled to stop seeing double and noticed this, she realized what the energy was; it was Blackstar's soul wavelength.

The meister in question seemed the least affected by it, physically, but was very clearly shocked and angry, if his yelling was anything to go by. 

"Did you  _ steal _ my big move?! Do you even know who you're messing with?!" He growled, already ready to continue the fight. Maka rolled her eyes.

Vermea looked at him for a second. "Not really. Nor do I care. If I don't know you already, I don't need to."

Relying on her staff, she walked forwards towards the still-recovering Maka. She reached around for Soul, but between her blurry vision and electrified senses, she couldn't find him.

Blackstar lunged for Vermea, but when he got too close, she made a pulling motion with her hand, and the glow in his chest returned as he collapsed in pain.

Kid was next, he was always quick to recover, but he was whacked away with her staff, right in the head.

Crona, still badly hurt from Blackstar's wavelength, struggled to stand and fight, but they were easily kicked to the side.

There was a quick flash of light, and Soul was in front of Maka, prepared to defend. Vermea paused for a moment, and then jabbed him with the butt end of her staff. When he stayed standing, she knocked him upside the head. He stumbled to the side, but still transformed his arm and stabbed her from behind, piercing her stomach all the way through.

Leaning heavily on her staff, Vermea turned around and once again jabbed it into Soul's stomach, this time with the ornamental side. There was another zap of electricity, this time focused entirely on Soul, and he barely made a noise as he collapsed to the ground.

Finally, she stood over Maka, spinning her staff as it changed back from yellow to blue. Maka began to stand, but Vermea kicked her down.

"It'll be less painful if you stay put, my friend," she seemed somber, then grinned. "And you know, I have to hand it to you. You put up quite a fight this time!" 

As Vermea raised the staff up above her head and the glow grew brighter and brighter, Maka found she couldn't bring herself to look away from her own inevitable death. Her mind raced for anything she could do, but there was no time. 

Strangely, the staff was not brought down upon her head. The glow grew even brighter, almost blindingly so, and Maka felt a painful tug somewhere in her chest. She tried to keep a brave face, to not give in to the pain, but it grew exponentially, and soon it couldn't be contained.

Maka screamed in mind-numbing pain, barely hearing what Vermea was saying over her. The witch didn't look as pleased at winning as expected, but Maka couldn't bring herself to care. Not only that, there was a strange sensation, lower. A new glow, smaller, coming from somewhere near Maka's chest, where the pain was radiating from.

She couldn't make out what it was before the pain became too much, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My artist for this was the lovely Rogha, who made Soul's birthday cake!!! Here's the post!!https://rogha.tumblr.com/post/645405547555930112/when-in-rome-chapter-1-warriorblood1-soul


	2. Questions and Answers and Changes, Oh My!

Maka woke to the early morning sunlight, head spinning and body aching. As she sat up and stretched, cracking her eyes open, the events of the night prior came flooding back to her. The witch. The battle. How was she alive? Was everyone else okay?

Standing on weak legs, Maka looked around. She was still in Death City, but it wasn't the same area she had been last night. This alley was significantly further from her apartment, on the edge of town, closer to the DWMA. There was no sign of any of her partners, dead or alive. The few people who were around didn't pay her any mind.

As she stepped out of the alley, a breeze blew by and whipped Maka's hair into her face. She brushed it aside, then froze. She had cut her hair short after losing a bet to Patty just a couple months ago. She had planned to let it grow back out, but had come to like having such short hair. There was no way it was long enough to get in her face; it was one of her favorite things about the style.

Reaching up, Maka found that not only was her hair suddenly long, but it was up in two pigtails, like she used to always have it. As she pulled out the hairbands, she glanced down to find she was wearing different clothes then she recalled. Instead of her comfy pajama pants and a t-shirt stolen from Soul, she was wearing an outfit that, admittedly, fit the weather a bit more, and was very cute; fuzzy boots over black leggings, a long-sleeved black turtleneck, and over it was a red and orange plaid dress. 

"This is way too weird," Maka grumbled, tying her hair back up in a bun and putting the spare hairband around her wrist. Looking up and down the street, her eyes once again settled on the DWMA looming over her.

Worried, she marched forward towards it. "I have to report the witch anyway," she told herself. "Maybe Lord Death will know something."

As she ran through the town and up the stairs, the sun continued to rise and the world began to wake up. There were very few people heading up to the DWMA alongside her, and they paid her no mind.

Once at the top, Maka spotted some people she recognized; Ox, Harvar, Kilik, and the Demon Pots. Relieved, she ran up and skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Thank Death," she exhaled, looking between them. "Tell me you've seen my partners today, or last night?"

She was met with silence as the group exchanged glances. After a moment, Ox cleared his throat. "Ah… your partners? Can you give us a little more description?"

Maka shot a glare at Ox and he recoiled. "Don't joke around," she growled. "My partners! Soul, Blackstar, Crona, Kid?"

Ox thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know any of those names, do you?" He asked Harvar and Kilik, and the two responded similarly.

Maka huffed, stopping her foot. "This isn't funny, guys! We found a witch last night and she kicked our asses, but if I'm alive then they have to be too! If you haven't seen them just say so, don't pretend you don't know them!"

Ox raised his hands, shrugging. "I don't know what to tell you, miss, we don't know who you're looking for."

"You say you fought a witch?" Kilik raised an eyebrow. "How did a civilian survive against a witch?"

His question made Maka pause, and she turned to him, eyes wide. "Civilian? Kilik…" she stepped forward, "...did you just call me a civilian?"

He nodded slowly, confusion evident on his face. "Are you not? If you're a student here, I haven't seen you before…"

Maka turned around, hands covering her face. She took two long, deep breaths and turned back around. "I am  _ not  _ a civilian. I am the top of our class, I'm  _ this close  _ to making Soul a death scythe, and I'm not putting up with this shit!"

To her side, Ox chuckled. "Miss…  _ I'm  _ the top of class Crescent Moon."

"No, you came in second. After  _ me _ . You have for the last four years, Ox!"

"Miss-"

"Stop that!" Maka cut him off. "Why do you keep doing that? My name is Maka Albarn, we've known each other for years, what the fuck?"

Harvar crossed his arms, voice as cold and even as ever. "I've never heard that name. Are you trying to break into the school?"

"I go here! How many times do I have to say it!" Maka tried not to scream out of frustration over this shitty joke.

Looking at her friends' faces, and their reactions, it seemed less and less plausible. Her voice grew quiet and nervous as she asked, "Do you really not remember me? You don't remember any of them?"

When met with a collection of shaking heads, she grew frantic. "That… That can't be right. Ox, we've been head to head every year we've been in class together! Kilik, you and Blackstar are best friends, you  _ dated  _ for a while! Harvar-"

"That's enough." The weapon in question cut her off. "You're clearly delusional. None of that happened."

"She said she was attacked by a witch," Kilik reminded them. "Maybe it affected her memory?"

"That's not impossible," Ox nodded. "But if so, that's one hell of a witch."

The three continued on, ignoring Maka's presence as she stood, petrified. How had she been forgotten? And her partners? What about Tsubaki, and the Thompsons? Plus, if people don't recognize her, they usually recognize her name. Had something happened to her parents?

"Miss Albarn?" Her thoughts were interrupted by Ox, waving his hand in front of her. "Hello? Can you tell us where you saw the witch?"

"In an alley downtown, by Deathbucks," she hurriedly explained, pushing past them. "I've gotta go."

"Hey, hey! You can't go in there!" The group followed her, and Ox grabbed her arm.

Without thinking, Maka swung, colliding with his nose and glasses. In his state of shock and pain, Ox let go of her, and she ran.

They were quick to follow. Maka tuned out their shouts, but there were more footsteps than the two meister-weapon pairs could create alone. When a bolt of lightning shot past her, she ran faster, swerving corners and jumping stairs, and directly into a large person.

Looking up, it took her a moment to recognize the face, as she hadn't seen him like this in many years.

"Sid?!" She exclaimed. "You're… alive?"

Sid, not looking zombie-like at all, looked her over, baffled by the statement. "Um. Yes? Who are you, a new student?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten, too."

"Forgotten what?"

"Me!" Maka explained, desperate. "I had to beat you up as a remedial lesson, along with Soul, Blackstar, and Tsubaki?" When he had no reaction, she continued. "Blackstar? Ring any bells? It should, he's your  _ son!  _ How could you forget your son, Sid!"

Taking a step back, Sid frowned. "I don't have any children, kid. ...Do you go here?"

Just as the question left his mouth, there was a shout of  _ "There!"  _ from behind her. Daring to look, Maka saw more than just Ox and Kilik and their weapons; several other meisters, many from her class, had joined the posse. Before Sid could catch on, she ran again.

Dodging attacks and people, Maka ran around most of the school before finally,  _ finally,  _ reaching the Death Room. She skidded into the door before getting it open and slamming it shut behind her.

Feeling safe, Maka caught her breath. "How is this possible?"

"Good question," commented a commanding and thoughtful voice.

Maka whipped around. In the center of the Death Room stood none other than Lord Death himself, which wasn't a surprise. Everything else, however, was.

Instead of the usual blue skies and puffy white clouds of the Death Room, the sky was grey and scratchy, like a child's drawing of rain. The few clouds in the room were a deep red. And beside him was someone she didn't expect to see anywhere in the country; Azusa Yumi.

"Azusa… I didn't know you were in town," Maka stepped forward to the platform, only to be stopped by the woman holding up a hand, light reflecting off her glasses.

"You will refer to me as Death Scythe, young lady," she snapped, and then paused. "I don't recognize you. Are you new here?"

Maka sighed. "No, I've been enrolled here since I was eight, I'm literally the top student in the school, I landed the last blow on the kishin,  _ why does no one remember me? _ "

"I remember you, Maka!" Lord Death supplied in his typical, goofy voice. "Though it's been a long time since I've seen you. Look how big you've gotten!"

She looked at him, more dreadful than hopeful. "...When exactly did you last see me?"

"Oh, lets see…" he thought for a moment. "You were very little. Must've been ten, twelve years ago?"

Maka held her head in her hands. "I had a meeting with you  _ last week _ . How is this happening? Has anything weird happened in the last day or so? Please, I need to find my partners and figure out what's going on, we were fighting a witch, and-"

"A witch?" Azusa interrupted. "In Death City?"

"That's been happening more and more as of late…" Lord Death sighed.

"Yeah, I think they feel safer here now because of the treaty," Maka offered, "but this witch was definitely on the wanted list."

"Wanted list?" Both asked, and Maka felt like her heart stopped.

"Yes, the wanted list. We can only hunt down witches who are criminals within the witching world as well, because of the peace treaty? You know, that thing  _ you  _ met with the Grand Witch to make?" She gestured to Lord Death, who gave a hearty shrug.

"Never heard of it!" he bounced. "As a matter of fact, we've got quite the opposite of a peace treaty going on, now, though I really shouldn't be telling a civilian that…"

Maka stomped, ready to pull her hair out. "I'm not a civilian! I'm one witch's soul away from making Soul a Death Scythe, I have been for a year now!"

Azusa adjusted her glasses. "I don't recall anyone named Soul being that close to ascending. As a matter of fact, I don't recall  _ any  _ students named Soul, and I assure you I have an _ excellent  _ memory, Miss Albarn."

Maka frowned at Azusa, annoyed. "That reminds me, actually. If whatever is happening is important enough for Azusa to be here, where are Miss Marie, and Papa? They live here, the two of them at least should be here."

Lord Death looked at her for a long moment, expression unreadable due to his mask. "Marie Mjolnir?"

"I… yes, Marie Mjolnir. I know she's retired, kind of, but I don't think she's been replaced, so it would make sense to bring her in. She's probably in her classroom right now."

"Did you ever meet her?"

Maka sputtered. "Yes? She's a teacher here, a Death Scythe, married to Stein, adopted Crona… What is going on?"

"Stein…" His voice verged on turning dark. "I suppose it makes more sense for you to know him, he was a friend of your father's…"

Maka felt her blood run cold. "Did something happen to Marie and Stein?"

Azusa adjusted her glasses and avoided eye contact. "Marie's been dead for three years. Stein killed her and has been missing since."

Breath caught in Maka's throat and her mind spun as she shook her head. "No, no, no! They got married three years ago! Had a baby, they're expecting another one! What  _ happened _ , how long have I been out?!"

As she scrambled to collect herself, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she saw it was Lord Death, once again looking at her intently. 

"You…" he spoke quietly, sounding confused. "You're different than I remember."

"What?" she croaked.

"Your soul, Maka," he explained. "I don't recall you having a grigori soul."

She held her hands to her chest. "I've always had one? I didn't know until after the kishin was killed, though…"

"Ah, that's another thing," Lord Death nodded, turning from her. "What kishin are you speaking of?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Kishin Asura. Is there another?"

Lord Death and Azusa froze. For a long moment, no one said anything. Nervous, Maka finally cleared her throat. "Lord Death, sir…?"

"...How is this possible, indeed…" he paced across the platform as he spoke. "You remember a very different world, your soul is familiar but different, and you were attacked by a witch," he nodded. "Very interesting. And very, very worrisome."

Finally looking back at Maka, he gave an exaggerated shrug. "Looks like we're in quite the pickle, pumpernickel! Unless we can find out anything about that witch, we might be at a dead end."

Determined, Maka fought hard to remember the fight. "Vermea. She said her name was Vermea Versum. She was able to take Blackstar's wavelength and use it against us, and…"

With a staggering breath, Maka reached for her chest, to the spot that was glowing just before she passed out. It burned when she remembered it. "She did something else. It felt like dying, like… my soul was leaving my body before it was ready."

Lord Death hummed, looking around. "Curious. A witch who could harness a soul's power… I wonder if it's possible…"

"What's possible?" Maka sprung to ask, desperate for answers.

"Well," he hesitated, "it's a bit of a stretch. But what if this witch, Vermea, was able to switch the souls of two people? Perhaps even across time and space?"

She frowned. He was right, that was pretty unbelievable. "Are you saying… I'm in an alternate dimension? Like in that one episode of Star Trek?”

He quirked his head. “What’s that?”

“S-Star Trek?" Admittedly, Maka wasn't a huge fan of the show, but Stein was, and thus Crona had become a fan, so it became a pastime to watch it together. "It's… You know…” she trailed off. "William Shatner?"

She was met with silence for a few seconds, feeling the weight of his stare, but unable to discern any expression. 

Finally, he stood back up straight. "Just kidding."

Maka deflated. "Glad to see you're no different."

Azusa sighed with her. "Yes, my apologies for how… unprofessional he can be."

"But," he continued, "I wasn't kidding about the universe thing. If it was just your memory, we could write it up as a head injury or something, but soul's don't suddenly change like that. And with how drastically different your memories are to the world, as well as the nature of the witch, I think it might be our best bet."

Biting her lip, Maka nodded. "I guess so. But, in that case, how can I get back? I can't stay here forever, I have to go home!"

"Of course, of course," Lord Death nodded. "Well, one option is to find Vermea and have her do the same spell on you again, but she might not even exist in this dimension.  _ I  _ certainly haven't heard the name. Have you, Death Scythe?"

Azusa shook her head, and Maka once again felt a burning sensation as she remembered Vermea's final attack. "Any other ways?"

"Well, any magic dealing with souls is very fragile," he explained. "I would imagine a strong enough resonance would break the spell and send you back to your dimension."

Maka smacked her fist into her palm. "Easy! I just have to find Soul, then! Do you know where he might be?"

He looked to Azusa, who held her index to her temple for a moment before looking back to him and shaking her head. He gave Maka a half-hearted shrug. "It sounds like he isn't in the school, at least."

That was disheartening, but Maka wouldn't let it bring her down. "I'll find him. But while I'm here, can I ask about some others?"

"Go ahead!"

"First off, I wasn't the only one in that fight. Soul was too, and my other datemates. Blackstar, Crona, and Kid. Do you know any of them?"

Lord Death hummed. "Well, Blackstar rings a bell, but only through the Star Clan. Crona and Kid I don't know of at all."

Maka bit her lip. "Are you sure? Kid… he's your son. Death the Kid?"

"Ah," he shook his head. "I can assure you, then, he doesn't exist in this world. I never had any children."

She felt her heart break with the knowledge that one of her partners did exist here, but it quickly turned to more determination. "Not even Asura? Was there no kishin here?"

Lord Death seemed to recoil slightly at the name. "Y-Yes, I suppose… he was, but you aren't supposed to know that-"

"It took a lot to get it out of you," Maka crossed her arms. "So Asura exists. Is he still under the school?"

"Under the-?" he frantically shook his head. "No, no, there is nothing under the school but rubble and earth, I can assure you. It's all heavily closed off anyway, I don't think anyone's been down there in ages."

"Then what happened to him?"

"Well…"

"Asura is dead," Azusa cut in, exasperated. "Lord Death killed him 800 years ago, after he rescinded his reaper status and became a kishin."

The reaper in question nodded. "Yes, thank you, Death Scythe…"

Maka shivered. "I guess that simplifies things. And Crona Mjolnir, you don't know anything about them? Or, I guess, since Marie is gone they'd still be Crona Gorgon…"

"Gorgon, like the Gorgon sisters? The witches?"

"Yes, exactly. Medusa is their mother."

He shook his head. "Then I would assume they're not here either. Arachne died centuries ago, Shaula a few years back, and Medusa is suspected to be dead as well, has been for a while."

With a sigh, Maka nodded. "That's also for the best, I suppose." She tried not to think about how at least two of her partners were gone, never having existed at all. It was just motivation to get home faster.

"Anything else I can help you with?" he offered.

Hesitant, Maka nodded. "Can I ask… why is Azusa here?"

The woman in question frowned deeper and crossed her arms. "I'm the academy's resident Death Scythe. And as I said, you should refer to me by my title."

"What happened to Papa?" Maka felt her heart race. She still had a  _ lot  _ of problems with her dad, but after realizing her mother pretty much abandoned her, they had been working on their relationship. If he wasn't here in this universe, how was Maka?

"Nothing's happened to Spirit that I know of," Lord Death supplied.

"But, something must've!" she argued. " _ He's _ the resident Death Scythe. Did he get transferred away or something?"

He shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh, no. Spirit never became a Death Scythe. Him and Kami were very close, but then you came along! They told me they planned to just graduate and settle down, maybe work for the school from time to time."

Maka sighed, relieved. That explained why no one knew her name; she wasn't the daughter of a Death Scythe anymore. "Thank you, I don't think I have any more questions right now." With a glance behind her, she added, "Well, except for maybe some help getting out of the school? I, uh, kind of have a manhunt after me."

"Of course!" he clapped. "Azusa, will you take her down to the stairs?"

She began to escort Maka out of the room when Lord Death's voice stopped them again. "Maka?"

She turned. "Yes?"

"Good luck," he gave her a wave, and for some reason, Maka once again felt filled with dread instead of hope.

The two left the room, quickly walking through the school, only being stopped once by Ox and Harvar, who were quickly scolded and forced to apologize by Azusa. At the stairs, the Death Scythe left Maka to her own devices.

Looking out over the city, she tried not to sigh. She had a lot of ground to cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my beta/boyfriend eggs repeatedly changed "william shatner" to "william shitner" and i had to quadruple check i didnt have it in this fjka
> 
> oh also "here's the pickle, pumpernickel" my beloved... return of the king...


	3. Swing, Swing — or is it Jazz?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for some transphobia/misgendering

Maka met Blackstar first. She doesn't remember it very well, they were very young, but apparently it became a trend for Spirit to watch the young boy while Sid was in classes, or away on missions. 

She didn't remember their first meeting, but they grew up together. They were close friends before they ever dated. They were each other's first kiss at ten after Maka's first of many near-death experiences, because she was afraid she wouldn't live long enough for it to happen as she had always imagined.

She met Kid too, when she was very young, but their meetings were so few and far between that she didn't remember them. Spirit didn't talk about him too much, so she was surprised when she re-learned, at twelve, that Lord Death had a son. 

Soul she met last, besides Crona, of course, and she knew him best; it was the nature of being partners. Adults often discouraged romantic relationships between student meister-weapon partners, for if they went sour, the partnership likely would as well. It stopped the two of them from acting on their feelings for years, but ever since, they had only gotten stronger.

She knew him like the back of her hand. If anyone could track him down, it was Maka.

Scouring the streets of Death City, nothing stood out to her as different from her own world. Not until she looked very, very closely.

The grocery store was right where it had always been, but ever since Asura's escape, it had been missing the pillar near the side entrance, lost in the destruction. But here, it was fully in-tact. 

There was a sushi place that had closed due to a lack of tourists in the city after the battles. Here, it was as open and bustling as ever.

Maka found herself in the alley where she fought Vermea. The only thing out of place was how clean it was. No signs of the battle. No blood, no impacts in the pavement, no sign of any battle.

Nobody she recognized.

She couldn't loiter long. She _had_ to find Soul, she had to get home, she had to go kick Vermea's ass. She had to make sure her partners were alive.

With a reignited sense of determination, Maka pressed forward, searching the streets, questioning people she recognized, looking for anything familiar. Her soul perception wasn't bringing up any trace of him, and she found she was being easily overwhelmed or distracted by the slight difference in people's souls. There was something different about them, she had never seen it in any soul before. She didn't have an explanation either, so she had little choice but to continue looking the old-fashioned way.

As the day got late and the sun got lower in the sky, just as she was losing hope that she'd be stuck away from home forever, she spotted it. A poster.

It wasn't a poster she had seen before, it was rather minimalist and the only eye-catching thing about it was that there were people near it, but upon further examination, it became a ray of hope.

**Friday, Saturday, Sunday**

**Classical, Jazz, Swing**

**THE EVANS GROUP** **  
****Live at the Theater Hall, 7PM-10PM**

**Tickets at the door, first come first serve!**

The Evans Group. Soul's family. In her world, he hadn't spoken to any of them since coming to the academy. But here… he wasn't in the academy. Maybe he had never left the Evans Group? That still left the question as to why no one recognized his name, as clearly the musicians were still popular here. Nonetheless, it was her best lead yet, and she ran to the theater.

It was only five o'clock, two hours before the concert was set to begin, and there was already a line down the block. Maka huffed; there was no way she'd be getting a ticket. But, she thought, she wouldn't be able to get to Soul from the audience, anyway. Surely, there was a way in through the back, somewhere she could sneak through.

Stepping out of the line and into an alley, Maka made her way around the building, looking for any way inside, music seeping through the walls and into the street all the while. 

There was a back door, but it was guarded by two large men. She felt confident she could take them down, but this would be an easier mission if done stealthily, so she kept looking. Violence would be Plan B. 

On the other side of the theater, she found a window. The curtains were closed, but slanted open just enough for her to see inside; it looked to be an office, rather than backstage. It also seemed to be empty.

The window was locked, and there was nothing around to try and force it open with. There were, however, some empty beer bottles, and a couple stones. Maka turned up her nose at the lingering smell of alcohol and picked one up. Peeking her head around the corner, she stepped back and threw the bottle high over the guards heads, hearing it shatter on the other side of them. They bought it, stepping over to investigate. 

With a bottle in one hand and a stone in the other, Maka moved quickly, throwing the rock through the office window, and throwing the bottle further down the alley. Quickly getting any remaining shards off the windowsill, Maka pulled herself up and through the window as quietly as she could.

Fearing that someone heard her, Maka hid in a dark corner of the room, behind a large armchair. She heard the guards in the distance, wondering what all the noise was about, but not coming around the corner to the broken window. She also heard music, beautiful music, coming from further in the theater. Once she was sure the coast was clear, Maka got up and snuck out of the room. 

On the other side of the door was a hallway. One way led to the stage, the other to backstage, and directly across from her was a bathroom.

Before she could react, the bathroom door opened, and out came a woman a good bit older than her. She looked Maka over with a frown, and the meister gave a smile in hopes it would cover up how she obviously wasn't supposed to be back here.

"Were you waiting for the bathroom?" the woman asked. Maka shook her head, and the woman frowned deeper. "Then get back to work, we've got a show to put on."

Maka tried not to sigh with relief for the excuse she had just been given. "Uh, of course! I'm just not sure what to do…?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You're the new girl, right? Miranda Kane?"

Maka nodded. "Yes, ma'am! You're the stage manager…?"

"Yes, Annalise Watson." She crossed her arms. "Remind me, were you hired for the stage crew or the musicians crew?"

"Musicians."

"Then get in there-" she jabbed her thumb towards backstage, "-and make sure everyone's dressed up and in tune. Anything they need, you get it for them. Got it?"

"Got it. Thank you, Miss Watson!" She began heading down the hall without further delay.

"Yes," Annalise sighed, "and Miranda?"

Maka took a moment to react to the name, but then stopped and turned around. Annalise looked her right in the eye with a glare that rivaled Azusa's.

"If you fuck up, you're fired."

She was a lot like Azusa, actually. "Yes, Miss Watson."

Now with an alibi and a fake identity, Maka went down the hall into the backstage area. It was filled with people and instruments and very fancy outfits.

Right off the bat, none of them looked familiar. She supposed it only made sense, she had never met Soul's family before, and he didn't show pictures of them. She didn't even know their names, save for Wes.

Wes was the subject of many late-night vents. Soul had always felt like he had been in his brother's shadow, and it was a factor in what finally made him leave. Soul had once gotten along with and admired his brother, but as they both got older, admiration turned to jealousy, envy, and finally just bitterness.

The Soul she knew had grown past his family, though he still didn't ever want to be in contact with them again. But the Soul she was looking for was not the Soul she knew. Maybe he liked his family. Maybe he wasn't a weapon, and that's why he never went to the academy.

Maka shook her head. There was no time to waste on what-ifs. She had to find the truth, and that meant looking for him, asking his family if necessary.

As it turned out, getting around the room was harder than it seemed. Within moments, she was barraged with orders from the various musicians and the other stagehands. She did her best to help out, keeping up her cover, while asking for Soul in the process.

Her heart dropped when every time she asked, no one knew the name.

Eventually, someone handed Maka a glass of champagne and was told to give it to Mrs. Evans — Soul's mother. Not sure of who that would be, she looked for the oldest woman in the room and worked from there. 

Such a woman turned out to be lounging on a sofa, looking up through the skylight as she hummed and tapped her fingers to the rhythm of the room on her thigh. She wasn't really what Maka expected from Soul's mother; she had dirty-blonde hair with some notable grey stripes, and dark blue eyes half-hidden behind partially closed eyelids and long lashes. Her color scheme was much more natural than Soul's, but they shared features; he had her nose, they were both very frowny, and from the looks of it had similar demeanors.

Biting her cheek, Maka stepped forward and with an _ahem,_ Mrs. Evans looked at her. Suddenly under scrutiny, Maka offered the glass of champagne, and she took it without a word.

"Ma'am," Maka forced herself to sound confident and not distrusting, "I have something to deliver to your son, but I can't seem to find him. Do you know where he is?"

Taking a long sip of her drink, Mrs. Evans watched Maka speak with disinterest. Finally sitting up and setting the glass down, she rolled her neck. "Last I heard, Wes is down the hall, rehearsing where it's a bit quieter."

Maka bit back a frown. "I'm sorry, I meant your _other_ son."

Mrs. Evans stood, barely sparing Maka a passing glance. "I don't have another son."

Before she could question further, Mrs. Evans shoved past her and slipped through the crowd and into the hall. 

Maka harshly rubbed her eyes. He _had_ to be here. Every time his mother was mentioned, Soul made sure everyone knew she was a bitch. Maybe she was ignoring him. Maybe someone else knew. Him and Wes were close, once. He was her best bet.

Ignoring people calling for her help, Maka pushed her way through the crowd and into the opposite hall. On this side of the building there were no windows, because the rooms were used for rehearsal, rather than offices, and had to be soundproofed. According to his mother, Wes would be in one of them.

Sure enough, she heard violin music coming from down the hall, and chased after it. Halfway there, she froze.

Along with the violin music and the white noise of backstage, there was something else, something familiar. A song she knew, played on the piano.

Soul had played it for her the day they became partners. It became his theme when they learned music could help strengthen resonance, even without the black blood. It was a song played on souls; it could be nobody but him.

She followed the music, carefully, slowly to the door furthest from backstage. The music was passionate, but quiet. With all the chaos, it was no wonder she hadn't heard it earlier.

Holding her breath, Maka opened the door.

Inside was a piano, and seated at it was a young woman, wearing a nice dress, but no shoes, with long, snow-white hair. She stopped playing and turned, tense, to see who had come in.

Maka met her eyes — _his_ eyes, a bright and beautiful red — and knew. "Soul," she breathed, a statement, not a question.

He was startled before, but at the name he stiffened further. "How do you know that name?" he whispered, standing up from the piano.

Maka shut the door, throwing them back into the near-silence of the soundproofed room. She couldn't stop the smile on her face, or the tears in her eyes; though, she wasn't sure if they were tears of joy at finding him, or sorrow that he didn't know her.

"I... I'm just so glad you're okay," Maka aggressively rubbed the tears away as Soul continued to stand dumbfounded before her. "I was looking for the you I knew, I don't know why it didn't cross my mind that maybe you never…"

His hands hovered over Maka's own, seeming to want to help but having no idea what was going on. "Um. Sorry to worry you? Have we met before?"

"That's complicated," Maka chuckled. "I've met you, I've known you for years. But _you_ haven't met _me._ So," she offered a hand, "I'm Maka Albarn. Nice to meet you, again."

He hesitantly shook it. "Uh. I assume you're a fan, then?"

She shook her head. "No, no. Well, yes? I like your music, of course, but… oh boy, this'll be fun to explain."

Fun was an understatement. Telling the alternate-dimension-equivalent of your boyfriend how you knew him and that you're from another dimension is a very quick way to make you sound like an insane person, and that was definitely the impression Soul got from Maka's explanation — and she even left out that they were dating!

But, Maka was blocking the door and there were no other exits, so Soul had no choice but to nod along and pretend he not only understood, but believed her. Maka, of course, saw right through it.

"Look," she sighed, fixing her bangs, "there has to be a way I can prove to you that this is real. Is there a question you can ask me, a fact you want me to share, something that will convince you I'm not crazy?"

"Why are you so desperate for me to believe you, huh? It's not like it matters to me," he argued, and despite it all, Maka was glad he was just the same in that regard.

"Because in order for me to get home, I need to have a strong resonance with someone," she gestured to him. "I told you already. Where I'm from, we're partners. You're _this close_ to becoming a Death Scythe! If there's anyone that can help me home, it's you, Soul."

He shook his head. "No, I… I shut that weapon shit down the second I found out about it. I had too, I couldn't just _leave_ …" he sighed. "I'm sorry, Maka. I can't even transform at will, there's no way I could help you."

Well, that was a setback. But nothing would stop Maka. "I'll teach you," she offered. "We learned together, when we were kids. We can learn again."

"Even so, I can't just leave."

"Why not?"

"The concert? My family? I can't just drop everything to help some stranger I just met."

Maka scowled. "You mean you'd rather stay surrounded by people you can't stand? A brother who's shadow you live in? A mother who misgenders you? A family who treated you like an outcast because you're albino, and in my world, further cast you out when you came out to them?"

Soul didn't respond, wouldn't even meet her eyes, and Maka forced herself to calm down. "Soul… In my world, you left your family when you found out you were a weapon. Reinvented yourself at the DWMA. Met so many great people, did so many great things. You helped save the _world,_ Soul! Your blade has forced a witch's spirit out of an innocent kid. We very nearly cut the kishin in half, and the only reason it didn't work was because the magic didn't count him as evil. You've saved hundreds, if not _thousands_ of people… including me."

Looking back at him, she saw an expression of hope and awe. With a smile, she pushed the bad memory out of her mind and continued, "I know you can do great things here, too. You just have to give yourself the opportunity. And be honest with me… do you really want to stay chained to your family for the rest of your life? Only ever playing what they tell you, not getting to feel the joy of your own music, your own choices?" Reaching out to take his hand again, she looked into those pretty red eyes once more.

"Don't you want to get to be yourself, Soul?"

It was quiet for a long moment after that, as they stood, holding hands. Backstage was too far away for any of the noise to filter through the soundproofing, so it was just them, alone in their little pocket of the world.

Finally, Soul let out a joyless laugh and rubbed his face. "My birthday was yesterday," he stated.

"I know," Maka nodded. "We had a little party at the apartment. Just before the fight with the witch."

"Was it fun?"

"Before we got our asses kicked, yeah."

Soul smiled with a shuddering breath. "Still sounds better than what I did. We're here for three days, one concert a night. Yesterday was day one of three."

"You performed on your birthday?"

He nodded. "The concert, according to my mother, was my present. That was the only time she acknowledged the date at all."

"What a bitch," Maka mumbled, but clearly not quiet enough as Soul heard her and burst out laughing.

"Yeah, she really is, huh?" he looked at his wrist at a non-existent watch. "You know what time it is?"

Maka shook her head, and he shrugged. "Well. Who gives a shit. C'mon!"

Without further delay, Soul spun the two of them around so he was closer to the door, opened it, and ran down the hall towards backstage, Maka in tow. Upon entering the area, it took about two seconds before they bumped into someone, a yelp of surprise and the sound of glass shattering following in quick succession.

Soul, still shoeless, took a few steps back and Maka saw who they ran into; none other than the bitch of the hour, Mrs. Evans.

"Good grief, watch where you're going!" she shouted, glaring at the two of them. "Where have you been? And where are your shoes? Those were expensive, you know."

"They fucking hurt, and frankly, I don't like the color," Soul stated, crossing his arms.

His mother scoffed. "You watch your language, young lady, and mind your tone!"

"No, I don't think I will!" he shouted, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "See, in case you forgot, yesterday happened to be my birthday. Eighteenth, in fact. Which means I am a legal adult, and don't have to stay with you anymore if I don't want too."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm leaving," he spat. "Enjoy your concert."

He once again took Maka's hand and pulled her through the crowd, carefully stepping over the broken champagne glass.

"You ungrateful _demon_ of a child!" Mrs. Evans screamed, "Oh, Death, why was I cursed with such an _awful_ daughter? After everything this family has done for you, you're going to abandon us right before we go on stage? You're going to leave your mother without so much as a goodbye?"

Soul looked back over his shoulder with a glare. "Yeah. And you can drop the act, I know you don't give a shit. None of you do. Oh, but before I go, one more thing." With a sharp-toothed grin, he stated, "I'm not your daughter. I'd correct it to your _son_ , but I don't really consider myself _your_ anything, and after this I'm sure you don't either."

There was a tense pause, a moment of silence as everyone processed what he said. The next moment was spent running as fast as they could out the back door, barrelling past the guards, running from the various instruments and insults Mrs. Evans was hurling at them.

Together, they ran until the sun was set and the moon was rising. They sat at a bus stop and Soul crossed his legs so his still-bare feet were protected from the cold night air by his dress.

Maka felt guilty, like she had forced him to come with her, abandon his family and go through such harsh treatment from his mother. Soul, however, looked like he couldn't be more happy.

"You were right," he told her, breaking the silence. "I mean. I knew they didn't care. Wes might've, once. But now all they care about is themselves. I knew it would never be safe to come out to them, but I…" he trailed off for a moment, then laughed heartily, familiarly. " _Fuck,_ it feels really good to be rid of them."

She sighed, at least a little relieved. "I'm glad. I know you'll do better without them. I've seen it."

He turned to her, excitement shining in his eyes. "And you'll still teach me about weapon shit, right? And then I can help you go home!"

"Of course," she grinned.

She studied his face closely. He looked the same as her Soul, overall. The only notable differences seemed to be from never having transitioned, but he was still so very familiar. It took a lot for her to not give in and kiss him; it had been less than a day since she had seen him last, but it already felt like years. 

Her moment was interrupted by a clap of thunder. She looked up at the sky, growing cloudy, and frowned. "We better find a place to shelter before it starts raining."

"Don't you live in Death City?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, in my dimension. But," she patted her pockets, "it would make sense for me to still be living here. Lord Death said Mama and Papa had settled down, and I figure that would mean in the city."

Feeling something in one of the pockets on her dress, Maka quickly fished them out with an _aha!_ Sure enough, they were keys, but something about them unsettled her.

"These are my keys," she told Soul.

"So? That's good, right?"

"No, I mean… they're exactly the same as they are in my dimension. Down to the pattern on the key," she showed him the skull printed on her house key. "But my hair and clothes changed when I came here. Why would my keys stay the same?"

"Maybe you live in the same place?" he offered.

Maka shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot. C'mon, it's not too far."

Now that they were away from the theater, they didn't have to run, but with rain incoming, neither wanted to doddle. The rain was just beginning to fall as they got to the complex Maka and Soul's apartment was in.

Though, Maka thought, in this universe it would just be her apartment, wouldn't it? As she put the key into the keyhole, she wondered how much emptier it would be.

Sure enough, the key fit, and the door unlocked. Inside was not the same apartment she had shared with Soul for the last seven years, but it was very similar. Everything was organized the same, with the couch against the wall, a desk against the windowsill, the fridge across from Soul's room, though she figured it wasn't his. Stepping inside, she walked down the hall to her room. She opened the door without a second thought.

It was nearly identical to her own. Most of her clothes were the same, there was a distinct lack of cat hair, and on her calendar there were no dates for upcoming DWMA events. But it still felt very much _hers._

She stepped back into the main room and shut the door behind her. She looked at what she knew as Soul's door for a moment, and decided not to give herself further heartbreak by looking inside. It was probably a storage room or something.

Soul, meanwhile, was looking around the apartment with new eyes. When he spotted her leaning against her door, he faltered. "This is… nice. Homey."

She nodded. "Do you… want something more casual to wear?"

"Please."

As Soul looked through her closet, Maka looked through the bathroom. There was more than just her toiletries behind the mirror, but she didn't recognize them as Soul's. Grabbing the scissors, she hoped whoever her roommate was wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

When she returned, Soul still hadn't come out. Setting the scissors on the kitchen counter, she went looking for something to make for dinner. In her case, she hadn't eaten all day, and the Soul she knew had horrible eating habits, so he probably hadn't either.

A few minutes later, the soup was beginning to boil and the pan was about ready for the first sandwich, and Soul came out of her room, dress abandoned. Instead, he now wore a pair of reddish-orange jeans, along with a red and white baseball tee. Over it was an old jacket Maka hadn't touched in ages; primarily yellow, with blue patches on the elbows and shoulders, and a zigzag strip that looked like teeth across the middle. All of it was a bit small on him, as he was taller and more broad-shouldered than her, but it would do until they could get him something better.

"You look great," she told him honestly. "I'm making dinner. Do you still like your grilled cheese with tomato?"

He sat across the counter from her and nodded. "It's… crazy. How well you know me, I mean."

Maka chuckled, nervous, as she put the tomato on his sandwich and put it in the pan. "Yeah, I know a lot. I just… don't wanna weird you out or anything."

"Well, even if you are insane, you're nice. You're helping me, and… I wanna help you," he admitted, avoiding looking at her.

They sat in silence for a bit while Maka finished his grilled cheese and put it on a plate in front of him. He took a bite and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Cheddar and jack?" he asked, and Maka nodded, preparing her own sandwich. "You really do know me."

"Of course," she smirked, ladling the soup into two bowls. "I don't have your favorite soup, probably because _I_ don't like it, but this should be good."

He gave her an incredulous look. "You don't like tomato soup?"

"There's too much tomato."

"Of course there's a lot of tomato, it's the main ingredient! It's in the name!"

"Yeah, and tomatoes are gross! I can't even tolerate ketchup."

" _What?!_ "

Maka couldn't help but laugh. They'd had this conversation before, this argument many times. She never liked tomatoes and probably never would, but Soul would have it in some form on pretty much everything. He'd try and sneak it into her food, and she'd try and take it off his. A commonly-played game.

It was nice to know her Soul wasn't so far away.

They ate in peaceful silence, and once they were done, Soul helped clean the dishes. He kept pausing to move his hair out of his face and finally gave up taming it, asking if he could borrow a hair tie or a headband. 

"Actually," Maka dried her hands and grabbed the scissors, "if you want, I could help you cut your hair?"

His eyes went wide. "I… I'm guessing you know how I want it?"

"I'd be willing to bet."

With a stool in the bathroom and a towel wrapped over Soul's shoulders, Maka went to work. Her Soul usually had his hair done up with some kind of product, be it gel or spray, but she knew what it looked like naturally, and that's how she cut it. Some twenty minutes later, she was done.

His hair went from halfway down his back to just a bit below his ears — shorter than her Soul's, but it's what he asked for. He styled it on his own, and Maka once again saw the eerie similarity to how he moved, acted, and looked like the Soul she remembered. She once again wanted to kiss him.

She hadn't told him they were dating in her world, and she decided that she would never do so. It wasn't fair to force herself onto him, to expect her feelings to be reciprocated. He barely knew her, and furthermore, Maka was pretty sure that it counted as cheating, and she would _never_ become like her father.

After sweeping up the cut hair and throwing it away, the two simply lounged on the couch, watching TV, oddly exhausted.

Then the door opened, and in walked Spirit. 

He spotted Maka and did a double-take. "Maka! You're home!" He rushed to the couch and swept her up in a tight hug that Maka tried to wiggle out of.

Over his shoulder, she saw another person rush into the apartment and meet her eyes. Maka felt her blood run cold and her heart pick up pace.

"Mama?"


	4. Not Much of an Oxford Man

"Maka!" her mother joined the hug as her daughter sat, bewildered, a concoction of emotions brewing in her stomach. Soul sat beside her, equally confused, until he was finally noticed.

"Wha- ...Who are you?" Spirit's first instinct was to glare and hold Maka protectively. "Are you why she's been missing all day?!"

"This is Soul," Maka explained before things got any more out of hand. "He's going to be my weapon partner."

"Weapon partner?" the parents asked, genuinely shocked.

"Maka," her mother spoke with a soft but belittling voice, "it's a little late for that, isn't it? You'll be going to college soon, not to mention you don't have soul perception or anything, it'll be much harder for you, as a meister, to do well at the academy."

"I'll be fine," Maka deadpanned. "I've  _ been  _ fine while you've been gone."

"While  _ I've  _ been gone?" her mother scoffed. "Maka, you have been missing for nearly a full twenty-four hours. Where the hell have you been?"

Maka sighed, dragging her hands across her face. "So I'm going to have to explain this  _ again _ , huh?"

Explaining the dimensional situation to Spirit and Kami was just as annoying as Maka had expected it to be, but after all their questions were answered and she had thoroughly proved herself, they had no choice but to accept it. After even  _ more  _ explanation and debate, Soul was permitted to sleep on the couch.

As Maka laid in bed, her own questions stayed unanswered. Why was her mother here? Why were her and Spirit still married? Everything seemed fine between them, or at the least, they were working together to look for her. 

In the end, she couldn't sleep. With a huff, she got out of bed and quietly stepped out of her bedroom, trying not to wake Soul or her parents. She technically succeeded, as she saw that Soul was also still awake, scrounging up what was left over of the soup Maka had made earlier. She had loaned him some pajamas earlier, which he had since changed into. She recognized the pants as the ones she had battled Vermea in, and the pain in her chest returned.

Maka tried to ignore it and focused on the boy before her. "Do you know how to cook?" she asked, leaning against the counter.

He frowned. "What, am I a top chef in your world or something?"

"No. We take turns cooking, but I remember having to teach you some stuff early on. You never explained why you didn't know."

"Well. Being locked out of the family kitchen'll do that."

"It's not good to eat before bed."

"Let Lord Death strike me down if it's so horrible."

Maka held back a laugh, and Soul gave her a smirk. "You can help me make breakfast in the morning, if you can get your butt out of bed, and then we'll get started with some basic training."

"Quicker we jump in, quicker you get back."

"Exactly."

They sat in near-silence as Soul tried to quietly heat up the soup in the microwave. Maka looked at the lump of blankets and pillows on the couch with a frown. "Sorry we don't have another bed or something. I don't really know what my plan here was."

"It's alright," he assured. "It's actually kinda fun to sleep on a couch. Don't think I've ever done that before."

"Just wait till morning, the fun wears off quick."

There was another long moment of silence before Soul set the bowl down and asked, "Why are you even up this late?"

"Why are you?" she shot back.

He shrugged. "Thinkin' too much. Then I got hungry."

Maka turned away. "I guess that makes sense."

"Are you alright?"

"I just… I feel like I'm so close to home, but I'm not. You, my parents, Lord Death, my classmates… none of you are that different. But those little differences are what remind me that I'm  _ not  _ home. And I just-" Maka cut herself off before she could say too much. Soul didn't need to worry himself with her conflicts with her parents, didn't need to know about her relationships back home. "I've been gone for a day, but it already feels like an eternity."

She heard him set his bowl in the sink and came around the counter to put a tentative hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna get back. I  _ promise  _ you're gonna get back. And then it'll feel like a bad dream or something."

He hesitated a moment, and then moved to sit on the couch, gesturing for her to follow. She complied, sitting next to him. As she leaned back and stared at the ceiling, she asked, "What do you think you'll do after I'm gone?"

Soul didn't respond immediately. "I don't know. I won't go back to the Evans Group, that’s for sure. Maybe I'll just find a job and an apartment and live my life. Or hell, if this goes well, maybe I'll join the academy."

"It's a great place. I know you'll do well there."

"Because I already have, right?"

"Exactly."

The duo sat on the couch, talking about nothing until they drifted into a comfortable silence. Around 2AM, Maka's head fell onto Soul's shoulder, fast asleep. As he drifted off to sleep himself, Soul thought she was actually pretty cute.

Maka woke up first, as per usual. It took her a moment to remember that she was in a different world, and that the Soul she was leaning on was a different person than the one she knew. She felt a shudder of embarrassment as she got up and went to take a shower. Part of her hoped he hadn't noticed.

After showering and getting dressed in something warm but easy to move in (some jeans, a button-up, and a leather jacket she recalled her father having bought for her), she was still the only one up. Blair was a morning person too, as hard as it was to believe. The apartment felt empty without her.

She set herself to making breakfast, just some simple pancakes, so that when Soul got up they could quickly eat and get to training. The next person to wake up, however, was her mother.

Maka tried not to pay too much attention to Kami, but the older meister was watching her inquisitively. "Do you often make breakfast?"

"Yeah," Maka answered, trying to hide her bitterness. "Do I not usually?"

"Normally Spirit does, since he's here. You're up early, too."

"What can I say? I'm a morning person."

Kami frowned, moving toward the door and putting on a jacket. "Promise me you'll be careful training, please. It's a lot harder than it looks."

"I  _ know _ , Mama." Her words came out with more force than Maka intended, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Taking a moment, she sighed, flipping a pancake. "I know.  _ Your  _ Maka never went to the academy, but  _ I've  _ been going there for years. I told you some of the stuff I've done. I'll be fine, and I'll be out of here in no time."

"...If you say so," she grabbed her keys and opened the door before looking back to Maka over her shoulder. "When Spirit gets up, will you tell him I went to a meeting with Lord Death?"

"Sure. What are you actually doing?"

"That  _ is  _ what I'm actually doing. It's not about you, don't worry." With that, Kami stepped out and shut the door quietly behind her. Maka tried not to roll her eyes.

She really didn't want to be jealous of herself, but this version of her mother seemed much more… well, present, than Maka's own. Why did she end up in the timeline where her mother left, barely even keeping up contact? Did it have to happen in order for Maka to succeed as a meister? That couldn't be it, she started attending the DWMA before the divorce…

Personal thoughts aside, the bigger picture was something that Maka had been questioning for a while. What else was different about this world? Was it all a butterfly effect from the kishin having been killed 800 years ago? Was there something more going on?

It didn't matter, in the end; this wasn't her dimension, so it wasn't really anything to worry about. Yet, as much as she tried to convince herself this, the questions lingered.

Spirit and Soul woke up at about the same time, and Maka did as her mother asked and told him where she was. From what she could gather, Spirit either worked from home or was just a stay-at-home-dad, and she wasn't sure what option she liked less. Soul changed back into the outfit he had borrowed from Maka and the two ate quickly before heading out. Spirit was allowed a small stack of pancakes as well, and he was thoroughly impressed at how well she had made them, if not a bit heartbroken to learn she had taught herself rather than learn from him or Kami.

They went up to the training forests of the DWMA for some isolation and easier focus, though Soul despised the trek up the stairs. He wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't transform at will; he had been suppressing his abilities for so long that it took a lot of effort to get them to come out at all. 

So, Maka had no choice but to start small. Her own weapon abilities were few and far between; Spirit had been elated when they found out, but Stein and Lord Death suspected that it would be impossible for her to fully transform. Admittedly, she hadn't practiced very much, but she had paid attention to the lectures, even taking notes.

"There's a blade lying dormant in your soul," she explained. "Try and picture it, and you can awaken it. You fight for the things you know to be right, and worth fighting for." Maka held her hands on her hips and gave him an encouraging smile. "When you know what that is, and you're willing to reach for it, transforming is easy as pie."

Soul sighed. "That all sounds kinda stupid."

"It's a mind game, Soul! You've just gotta think about doing it, and then soon enough it becomes second nature."

"Yeah, yeah," he pouted, closing his eyes. "Blade in my soul. Just gotta wake it up." He continued to mutter to himself as he tried to follow Maka's advice. There was a flash of light, and Soul lost his balance as one of his legs became a familiar-looking blade.

"See?" Maka offered him a hand, "You're getting there."

"Yeah, but not fast enough," he took it, and she pulled him up. He hobbled over and leaned against a tree until his leg detransformed. "If all I can do is one limb at a time, you're never gonna be getting out of here."

"Don't worry," she patted his shoulder. "I have faith in you. A lot of people have told me that once you transform fully for the first time, you never forget. It's like riding a bike."

He sighed, bonking his head against the tree trunk. "Bikes are lame."

Maka held back a groan. He sure was like her Soul, alright.

"Oh, it's you," A voice interrupted their argument. "Maka, right…?" he sounded hesitant. Maka looked and saw it was Ox and his partner, Harvar. 

"Yeah. I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you out here, huh?" she looked between the two of them, an idea forming.

Harvar frowned. "You may have some excuse from Death Scythe, but you're still not a student here. This is private property."

"I think you'll live. The forest is big enough for the four of us."

"Speaking of…" Ox tried to get a glimpse at Soul, who was hoping he could blend in with the tree he was leaning against. "Who is this? Do you have a partner now?"

"Yep! This is Soul," Maka introduced him and he waved. "We're working on just transforming right now."

The duo looked surprised. " _ That  _ basic?" Ox asked, and then recoiled at his own tone. "Um. Good luck?"

"Thanks," Maka deadpanned, but then bounced back as she took a step closer. "Actually, can I talk to you two for a minute?"

They looked between each other and shrugged. "Sure, what about?" Ox asked.

"Nothing important, just one sec. Hey, Soul?" she called over her shoulder to him, "Keep practicing!"

Soul gave a mock salute and did as he was told as Maka led Ox and Harvar away from where he was.

"Okay. I want you to attack Soul," she explained.

Once again, the two were pretty shocked. "Um-" Ox began, but was cut off.

"Why?" Harvar crossed his arms, demanding. "He's incredibly new at this. We could probably kill him with one hit."

" _ Don't  _ kill him," Maka clarified, "just attack him. Aim for his feet or something, catch him off guard. Part of it is confidence, but a lot of weapons find their abilities through high-stakes scenarios. If he thinks he's in danger, his instincts should take over and force him into his weapon form!"

Harvar sighed, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. "You're right, but still. That's a cruel trick to play."

"I just… I worry about how much time we have," she admitted.

"Becoming a good meister takes a long time, Maka," Ox advised, trying to be supportive.

"That's not what I mean," she snapped. "I told you, I was sent here because of a witch. She was  _ looking  _ for me. If there weren't such high stakes, I'd say take our time, but I'm worried about what she's doing back home. And I'm worried she's going to follow me here. I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

The boys before her were quiet for a moment, until Ox patted her on the shoulder. "We'll help. I don't entirely understand what's going on, but you'll be alright. C'mon, Har, we'll sneak up from behind."

Maka waved the two off and hurried back to Soul, who looked to have made no progress. He opened his eyes as she approached and huffed. "Those guys looked obnoxious."

She shrugged. "They are, but they're good people. At least in my world they are."

"They sounded like they knew you?"

"Yeah, when I first got here I punched Ox in the face, and they chased me around the school."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. But enough about them," she tried not to be obvious as she spotted the top of Harvar's spear form creeping closer, "are you feeling any more confident?"

"Not at all," he groaned, rubbing his face. "Is there anything else we can try? This imagination bullshit doesn't seem to be working all that well."

Maka put a hand to her chin and pretended to think. "Well. Sometimes weapon abilities are activated as a sort of fight-or-flight reflex."

"Great. How would we simulate that?"

With a shout of "Royal Thunder!!" there was a crack of electricity. Soul spun around to see, but Maka quickly saw the issue with Ox's attack: it was heading straight for  _ her _ . 

The bolt didn't hit her though. In the span of mere seconds, a large black and red blade blocked her path, which the bolt bounced off of. The recoil of it sent Maka's sudden shield falling back, and with a flash of light, the blade was stuck in the ground, it's handle within Maka's reach, no human body parts to be seen.

Soul had transformed, but not only that — he had protected her. Flashes of a shrieking blade and far too much blood and a scar that would never go away plagued her mind. But that was the past. This Soul was fine, other than being stuck in the ground. 

Forcing herself to calm down, she stepped forward and took hold of the snath, pulling the blade out of the dirt with no hesitation.

Once she began swinging, any anxieties and fears washed away. Basking in Soul's wavelength, testing their resonance, slicing branches clean off trees; it felt like home.

When she finally stopped and allowed him Soul to detransform, she felt better than she had in awhile. The weapon in question seemed in awe of himself, and the other pair came out from their hiding spot, somewhat impressed.

Maka ignored them and grinned at Soul. "I told you so."

Soul nodded, still lost in his own thoughts. He finally snapped out of it and looked around. "Where the hell did that even come from?! Lightning doesn't work like that, right? And there isn't a cloud in the sky!"

Ox sheepishly peeked out from the bush he was hiding in, still holding Harvar. "Oh, that was us-"

"What the fuck, man, you could've killed me or Maka! What's wrong with you?!" 


	5. Familiar Faces, Similar Souls

Once all was settled, Ox and Harvar went on their way, leaving Maka and Soul to practice more before they decided to go down and get some lunch, as it was getting late in the day.

They ended up going to the sushi place that had closed in Maka's world. She didn't like raw fish, but they had a few other options, and she found she wasn't that hungry anyway. They talked idly as Soul gobbled down his food and Maka picked at hers.

"So, weapons are, well, weapons," he paused to eat another piece, "but what about meisters? Can anyone be a meister, or are there certain requirements? Could a weapon be a meister? I heard your mom say something about like, soul persuasion or whatever?"

"Soul perception," Maka clarified, more amused than annoyed. "Anyone can be a meister, but I don't think I've ever heard of a weapon being one. Maybe Liz and Patty when they fight without Kid… Other than that, I'm not sure. There are self-wielding weapons, but it's pretty hard to do."

"Do you think I could do that? After you leave?"

"In my world, you've tried." She paused, then hesitantly added, "You haven't had much success, though. Scythes are a tough thing to self-wield."

"Damn," he frowned, leaning back in his chair. "What about soul perception? Can I do that?"

"Probably not, most weapons can't. Azusa can, but she's a special case," Maka mirrored him and leaned back in her own chair. "Some meisters have it. Probably most, now that I think about it. It's the ability to see souls before a person dies. It can help to track people down, and people who are really skilled with it can even read the characteristics of a person's soul."

"How far can you see?"

Maka shrugged. "Depends on the person. In my case, I could probably see… halfway across Death City? If I really tried, at least. But if I've sensed wavelengths from even further, while searching for a specific one. And with your help, of course."

"I thought I couldn't use soul perception?"

"No, but weapons can amplify a meister's wavelength, enhancing both their abilities. If we wanted, we could work together and see pretty far."

"Then let's do it!" he stood, searching his pockets for a wallet he didn't have. Maka took out hers and headed to the counter to pay, Soul trailing after her.

"I mean, we could try. But why do you want to?"

"Why not? It sounds cool as hell!"

His excitement was endearing, so she paid for lunch and they went to find a building to scale. All the while, Maka hoped that she wouldn't be as overwhelmed as she was when looking for Soul. An apartment complex nearby had a fire escape, and up they went, sweating in the harsh sunlight at the top. 

From up there, they had a good view of a large chunk of the city. Most buildings were about this height, the main exception obviously being the DWMA. 

Soul bounced with energy, and Maka held out her hand, signalling him to transform. He did so, she caught him, and then looked back out to the city.

"We'll just try to see to the other side of the city. Our low-level resonance should let us do that much. I don't think you're quite ready to try a higher resonance rate yet."

"Sounds good," he chimed from within the blade. "What do I have to do?"

Maka closed her eyes. "Focus on our connection, and to the presence of the other people in the area. Try to push it even further."

"I… don't think I can push  _ anything  _ like this."

"With your soul, silly."

Snapping her eyes open, Maka felt the world around her lose detail and fade away, and countless souls appeared. She pushed herself as far as she could go, and found that Soul was indeed amplifying the range. It wasn't as much as she had expected, but it was still something.

Maka tried not to be overwhelmed as she felt many familiar wavelengths. Some she could identify: Kilik was out with the pots at a grocery store; Spirit was in an unknown building a few blocks from the apartment; Blair was at Chupacabras; and above her was part of Lord Death's soul, bound to the city. There were others that were familiar, but she couldn't quite place who they were. None of them were her partners.

Soul seemed to sense her disappointment, and she felt his wavelength expand, pushing their range just a bit further.

Maka blinked, the world coming back into focus around her, and stumbled backwards, falling into a sitting position. 

Soul detransformed and knelt beside her, the fear on his face melting into simple worry as he saw she wasn't physically injured. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Maka was out of breath, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and a smile twitching on her lips. "I'd know that wavelength anywhere. It's a little different, warped or something… but it's Blackstar. I know it is."

"Who?"

Maka felt a wave of bitterness wash over her before shaking it off. Different Soul. It makes sense they wouldn't have met.

Without thinking, she confessed, "He's one of my boyfriends."

Soul was taken back, looking a little disappointed. "Oh. One of…?"

Maka stood. "I'm in a poly relationship, I can explain later, I have to go!"

Before he could argue, Maka dashed down the fire escape and through the streets, following the trace of Blackstar's wavelength she had caught. Soul hurried after her, questions and worries running through his mind as he called her name.

As she ran through the streets, Maka wondered why his soul was so different. Soul's was different too, but not like this. He didn't attend the academy, and Lord Death only knew his name through the Star Clan. Despite the evidence, Maka refused to acknowledge the worst-case scenario. There had to be another explanation.

Her soul perception led her to the shadow of a tall building. It was a refreshing break from the sun, but Maka couldn't see anyone nearby, let alone boisterous Blackstar. She held her breath and she stepped further into the shadows, trying to pinpoint where he had gone. 

She sensed it before she heard it, and whipped around just in time to see someone had jumped down from above and landed behind her. He had bright blue hair and a star tattoo on his shoulder, standing a little shorter than herself, a dark scarf covering the lower half of his face.

Maka couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her as she took a step towards him, but the moment was short-lived as Blackstar began to speak.

"I wouldn't come any closer," his voice was the same, but there was an unfamiliar malice behind his words. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to mess with strangers? You might get hurt."

Maka took a step back, her blood running cold, and he took a step closer, chuckling. "No, no, it's too late, now. You're just in time for lunch."

As he pulled down his scarf to reveal a set of inhuman teeth and a slithering tongue, Maka decided she didn't need her soul perception to know that he wasn't human anymore. 

Just like this Soul was not  _ her  _ Soul, this Blackstar was not the same Blackstar she knew and loved. Yet, that thought had her frozen in place. Not out of fear; out of sadness. What had happened in this world to make him like this?

With a growl he leapt towards her, and Maka moved on instinct, ducking under him and somersaulting out of the way. She stood up, a little dizzy, and they locked eyes. His were not the forest green that hardened in battle and softened in hospital beds. She could barely see the color at all behind the bright star that took over most of his irises.

Maka saw his wavelength crackling at his fingertips, and was once again taken back to the night they fought Vermea. Blackstar had always been stronger than her, physically. He was better at fighting without a weapon. This was not a fight she would win alone.

Not wanting to die, she turned and ran, sensing him hot on her heels. Maka spotted Soul running in her direction, and she sped up.

"Transform! Now!" she held out her hands for him to land in, but was met with hesitation.

"Why? What's happening?"

"Just  _ do it! _ " she yelled, frustrated. 

Soul finally did as she asked, and once he was fully formed, she did a hard pivot and swung into Blackstar's side, forcing herself not to close her eyes. This would be hard enough; she was going to have to deal with seeing him get hurt and die.  _ It wasn't the same person. _

The attack took him by surprise, but the cut didn't go too deep. With a snarl, he grabbed hold of Soul's blade and shot his wavelength into it, sending it up to Maka as well. The pair went flying back, and Soul was forced out of his transformation.

Blackstar held a hand to his wound for a moment, seeming interested in the blood. "So, you're a meister? You know what that stupid academy did to my clan?"

"Yeah," Maka forced herself up, "they got what they deserved. The question is, how did  _ you _ survive?"

He dashed towards her quicker than Maka could blink and threw her against a wall, knocking the wind out of her. "I'm a  _ God _ , you pathetic worm. What'd you expect?"

Gasping for air, Maka spat out, "An honorable fight… guess that's too much… for you…"

Full of rage he grabbed her by the hair, bringing her up to his face. "Who gives a shit about honor? What matters is  _ winning _ . I guess that's a feeling you'll never know. I pity you, meister."

He opened his jaws impossibly wide, and Maka struggled against him. With a yell, she was free, but not by her own actions: Soul, still unsteady on his feet, had transformed just his arm and cut her hair where Blackstar had been holding it. 

Now, he stood in front of Maka, ready to defend. Blackstar cackled. "A weapon's loyalty. How stupid."

"Yeah, well..." Soul struggled for a retort.

"You're a whore," Maka stated, forcing herself to her feet.

She put a hand on Soul's shoulder, and he transformed. Maka held him at the ready, still slightly out of breath. Blackstar held a similar stance, but for a moment neither moved.

She rose the scythe to lunge forward and attack, but paused. A shadow passed over the area, and Blackstar was now looking above her, not at her. All his cockiness vanished as his stance faltered. He shot one last glare at Maka before disappearing into the shadows. 

"Wait, where'd he go?!" Soul called from the blade, more angry than worried.

Maka kept her grip on the snath, looking around. "Something scared him off."

"Hah! What a coward. You're  _ dating  _ that guy?"

"He's much better where I'm from," she explained, looking at the tops of buildings. Something above her scared him, but she couldn't see anything.

Soul, meanwhile, was being very cocky. She loosened her grip and allowed him to detransform, and he began pacing around. "The guy talks big game about being a god and then runs off the second we start to fight back. What a coward."

"No offense," she interrupted, "but I don't think we're the ones who scared him off."

"Then what, big baby got scared of his shadow?"

As Soul laughed at his own joke, Maka finally spotted someone. Standing atop a building at the end of the block was a slim figure with large, black, bat-like wings. They were dressed in all black, a stark contrast to their mess of pink hair, making it stand out.

"Crona," she breathed, heart skipping a beat. They were here. They scared off Blackstar. Surely this was a good sign.

Once again, her soul perception led to more heartbreak. Crona's soul was large and looming. The dry wavelength she was used too wasn't as present in this Crona. What was quickly apparent was that, like Blackstar, Crona had a kishin egg soul. And from what Maka could tell, they were much closer to becoming a kishin than they had ever been in her world. There were no snakes hiding near their soul; no sign of Medusa nearby. Just the thought of the woman's name made Maka's blood boil.

Crona was much too far away for her to see their eyes, but she could tell they were watching her with some kind of interest. However, besides the wings, there was no sign of Ragnarok, no shrieking blade that had once plagued her nightmares. They made no move to come closer, or attack. They simply watched. 

Soul eventually found what Maka was staring at, and that was apparently their cue to leave, as they flew off and disappeared on the horizon.

"...Please tell me we're not chasing after whoever that was, now," Soul broke the silence.

Maka shook her head. "We'd never survive."

"You can tell from their soul?"

"Yes, but also… they almost killed you before." She watched what little color there was in Soul's face drain away and she sighed. "In my word, they're another one of my partners. But here… I'm not sure I want to even try getting through to them. It was a gamble last time."

"Yeah, uh… I think I'm fine with that."

Maka nodded, grabbing Soul's hand without thinking. "Let's… Let's go home."


	6. Rational Fears

At home, the two tried to relax with naps and food and bandages. Maka lied to her parents about what happened and everyone went to bed with little hassle. Maka invited Soul to sleep in her bed if he promised he'd be awake early enough to fool Kami into thinking he had been on the couch.

They barely got away with it since the next morning, both Kami  _ and  _ Spirit were leaving the house, though not together. The duo ate breakfast and watched bad TV for a few hours. Maka didn't want to risk running into Blackstar or Crona yet, and Soul was more than happy to not have to trek up the infinitely long stairs of the DWMA two days in a row. Not to mention that it was a whopping 103°F, so they agreed they'd wait till the sun started setting to find a cooler place to practice more.

"So," Soul began, talking over the quiet TV. "You're dating two people?"

"Four," she told him before remembering the situation and correcting, "Three. Sorry."

"It's fine," he shrugged. "You break up with one recently?"

Maka nodded, taking the excuse. "The other one you don't know is Death the Kid, Lord Death's son."

"Lord Death has a son?"

"Not in this world, apparently," she sighed. "But seeing how Blackstar and Crona are here, I guess I should be glad. I wouldn't want to have to worry about an insane reaper on top of everything else."

"Yeah, just imagining sounds…" he trailed off, clearing his throat. "Anyway. Are they also students at the academy? In your world, that is."

"Yeah. They're all meisters."

"Who are their weapons? Anyone we know?"

Maka bit her lip. "Actually… we haven't seen any of them. Crona's weapon is Ragnarok, and he's literally in their blood-"

" _ What? _ "

"Their mother was a fucking bitch and experimented on and abused them, it's a long story."

Soul seemed to notice her sudden white-knuckle grip on her mug, and just nodded along. "Uh. What about the others?"

"Blackstar's weapon is Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Her family is a pretty well-known weapon clan. She came to the academy to find her brother, so she might still be around," Maka took a sip of her drink, thinking. "Kid has two weapons, Liz and Patty Thompson. They're sisters, and they all consider each other family now. Without him… they're probably still in Brooklyn."

"Oh, Brooklyn's a cool town."

"You've been there?"

"On tour, yeah," he shrugged. "Continue."

"There's nothing more to say," Maka slumped further into her chair. "They're skilled weapons, they'd probably be better at teaching you than I am, but if we can't find them, then it's no use."

Soul paused. "We could just… go to Brooklyn?"

"Do you have your motorcycle in this universe?"

"I have a  _ motorcycle  _ in your world?" he sat up, thoroughly impressed, before slinking back down. "I can't even drive a car."

"I can," she moved her hair out her face with a huff, it was shorter after the encounter with Blackstar, but still much longer than she had gotten used too, "but we would need a car."

The conversation was interrupted with the door opening and Spirit re-entering, grocery bags in one hand as he put a keychain into a small bowl with the other. He beamed at Maka and she sunk further into her chair.

Soul raised an eyebrow at the bowl by the door. "Uh, Mr. Albarn?" Maka could hear him forcing his voice to sound deeper, "Do you have a car?"

"Yes," Spirit looked over his shoulder, "why do you ask?"

Soul shrugged. "Just… not a lot of people in this area seem too."

Seemingly finding the excuse acceptable, Spirit returned to putting away the groceries. "Most of the roads in Death City aren't big enough for cars. It's a big place, but usually anything you need is close enough. The only reason we have one is because Kami and I sometimes do jobs outside of town."

"What kind of jobs?" Maka asked.

"Stuff for the DWMA. Sometimes it's just errands and the like, but sometimes we get sent on missions, or at least as chaperones to them."

Soul asked a few more questions as Spirit finished his task and went into his bedroom. The weapon then moved closer to Maka and lowered his voice.

"We can steal his keys and go?" he suggested, a mischievous glint in his eye.

A grin found its way onto Maka's face, despite the hesitation in her heart. "I should have an extra suitcase. It'll be a couple days."

"Roadtrips are pretty rad."

Without further discussion, they crept into Maka's room and packed suitcases with clothes, and once the coast was clear, carried them into the living room. They set the bags outside the door of the apartment, and Maka quietly took Spirit's keys out of the bowl.

She was about to shut the door behind her when she hesitated. When the other Maka went missing for a day, Spirit and Kami searched high and low for her. If she just suddenly disappeared for several days, then they would lose their minds. Something in her heart didn't want to worry them, despite her issues with them both.

Stepping back inside slightly, Maka hid the keys in her pocket and called, "Papa?"

He poked his head out of his bedroom with a smile. "Yes, Maka?"

"Me and Soul are going on a mission for the academy," she lied, again. It tasted bitter on her tongue. "We'll be gone for a few days."

"Oh," his face fell, and he came fully out of the room. "Where too?"

"Brooklyn."

"Where's Soul?"

"He's already heading to the car the academy sent for us."

"Oh. Um. Can I walk you down?"

Maka shook her head. "I just wanted to let you know, so you and Mama don't get worried again."

"Oh. Well, thanks for telling me."

Maka nodded, and took a step to leave, but was stopped by Spirit pulling her into a tight hug. When he let go, he smiled at her. "You'll do great. Try and be safe, okay?"

She nodded harder, avoiding eye contact. Finally, she croaked, "Love you, Papa," and quickly stepped out of the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

Rubbing at her face and the tears forming in her eyes, Maka wondered why it was suddenly so hard to be away from her father.

Soul put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up, taking the keys out of her pocket. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"This blows," Soul grumbled, flopping into a chair. "I mean, how can she not know us at all? I get that Stein said something about like, dimensional magic, but that's insane, right?"

Kid shrugged, eyes dark. "It's the only answer that makes sense. If her memories were wiped, she'd either still remember some things that are familiar, or she wouldn't remember anything at all. Not to mention, her soul is different. You don't just stop having a grigori soul."

"A-At least," Crona croaked out, "a strong re-resonance will bring  _ our  _ Maka back, ri-right?"

Another shrug from Kid. "According to Stein. But even he admitted it's all theoretical."

Soul looked away from depression central to the window. Outside, on the balcony, Blackstar had been pacing and doing various exercises for the last few hours. There had even been a few fights. To an outsider, he'd seem to be just the same as he always was, if not a bit more irritable. Soul knew better; it was a coping mechanism. He was just as distraught as the rest of them.

The Maka they were now faced with was significantly different than the one they knew and loved. She was still Maka, very much so, but she was not the fierce meister who slew a kishin, the girl who was angry at her father for cheating but betrayed by a mother who abandoned her, the top of her class know-it-all. By her own admission, she wasn't even a student at the academy, had never wielded any weapon, never used soul perception, and didn't remember any of them.

One exception was, again, Blackstar, which was surely part of his current frustrations. When he burst into the room, excited to see his girlfriend who had been badly injured, she panicked. While everything was being figured out, she admitted that she had never  _ met  _ Blackstar — she only knew from posters around town that he was the last surviving member of the Star Clan, and was wanted dead. According to Not-Maka, in her world he’d become a kishin egg, something that strongly disturbed the rest of the polycule.

Another hint was when she recognized Soul's deadname, as she knew him from the Evans Group. Apparently, in her world, he had never left his shitty life behind, for whatever reason. Just the thought made him sick, but this Maka took special care to make sure she got his name and pronouns right. He appreciated it, but the fact that she hadn't already known was just salt in the wound.

Kid and Crona had been quiet since finding out. While Blackstar and Soul were different in her world, they were at least present. According to Maka, Lord Death didn't have any children, and she had no knowledge of Medusa, the Demon Sword, or anything else that could lead to Crona's existence.

Tsubaki and the Thompsons had been with the group for most of the time, but just recently had left to give the polycule some time alone. The other Maka had no knowledge of any of them at all, but there had been theories. Without Kid, the Thompson's were likely either dead or still in Brooklyn. Tsubaki, they decided, either had a different partner at the DWMA or perhaps, had never gone at all. There was the stray thought that she still went up against Masamune, but without Blackstar's moral support, didn't survive. 

Even Stein was affected, as Maka was pretty obviously his favorite student, as well as a good friend at this point. Furthermore, she told him that she had heard from her father that the Stein of her world had been missing for several years, and was suspected to have given into his madness and killed Marie, as she was also missing. After things were more figured out, Crona admitted to the group that Stein had brought them, Marie, and even Asger into a long group hug, making a point to swear that he would never hurt any of them.

It was a really shitty day.

As footsteps approached, Soul looked from the window toward the door, and froze. Maka — the  _ other  _ Maka — had apparently changed, as Spirit had taken her home to explain more of the world she was currently in. He shouldn't have been so surprised, as she had been in pajamas during Vermea's attack, but her outfit choice was familiar enough to make his heart break more.

She was more or less in Maka's usual mission outfit. The long black frock coat, the white undershirt, the boots. The differences were in the details; no vest or tie over the shirt, her skirt was green instead of red, and she had no gloves on, though she did have hairbands on her wrist. When she had initially woken up and gotten her bearings in the DWMA's hospital wing, she was quick to complain about the short hair, as Maka had done when it was first cut.

Soul forced himself to look away. She wasn't the same person. She wasn't his, wasn't any of theirs. No matter how similar she seemed, this was not  _ his  _ Maka.

She walked up to the table and leaned on it with her arms taut. "Am I interrupting something, or can we get started?"

The trio looked at her, confused, and she frowned, standing straight. "The Doctor said a resonance can get me home. I don't know how to do it, but apparently you all do, so you can help me, right?" They all nodded, and she put her hands on her hips. "Then what are we waiting for? The sooner I figure this out, the sooner I get home and you get your girlfriend back. There's no point in delaying!"

Her words were met with shocked silence, until Ragnarok popped out, giggling. "Well, she isn't  _ that _ different! Maybe she's a better cook, that angel cake was pretty tough."

Not-Maka recoiled. "What… is that…?"

"Th-This is my weapon, Ragnarok…" Crona couldn't meet her eyes.

Ragnarok, however, was rather unaffected by the swapping of the Maka's. "Yeah! You're the one who made me tiny like this, you little shit!"

She scoffed. "Well, if you talk like that, maybe you deserve to be."

The too-familiar conversation ended when Kid stood up and straightened his jacket. "Well. Like you said, no time to waste. We'll have to do some kind of assessment to gage where to start teaching you."

She fiddled. "I told you, I never went to the academy. I don't know how to do any of this meister stuff."

"Why  _ did _ you never go?" Soul found his voice to ask. He couldn't imagine Maka not being a meister, yet here she was.

She shrugged. "Mama didn't want me too, and neither did Papa, really."

"And you listened to them?"

"Of course, they're my parents."

"But-"

"Stop," Kid cut him off with a pained glare. "It doesn't matter. I'm not talking about meister stuff, I'm talking about basics. To wield a weapon, you have to match wavelengths. Most people can do this without ever realizing, it's just a matter of the right partner."

She looked between Kid and Soul. "Isn't he her partner?"

"Yes, but you have a different soul than our Maka," Kid explained. "You might end up naturally having a stronger resonance with a different person."

Soul bit his lip, feeling protective. He didn't like the idea of Maka having a different weapon; hell, he didn't want a different meister. Kid had recently started training with weapons besides Liz and Patty in preparation for his inevitable ascension, despite how much he hated it. Lord Death warned him that while he can have preferences, he needed to be able to use more than just pistols, especially if the girls didn't become Death Scythes.

Which led to Kid hesitantly trying to use Soul. Since they were dating, they tended to be in a low level of resonance already, and there was a mutual trust. While Kid had no problems holding or even really wielding Soul, it wasn't long before the feeling of being off-balance got to him. 

Soul on the other hand didn't really mind being wielded by Kid, if he succeeded becoming a Death Scythe it probably would've happened eventually, but there was something missing. He loved Kid, but there was a connection with Maka that he didn't feel with anyone else. Not like there had been many others; before the experiment with Kid, the only time he could recall having a different partner was a miserable failure with Blackstar.

Despite his reservations, he had to admit Kid was right. Souls were picky, there were countless examples. While people like Kid and Stein had very flexible souls, there were also people like Blackstar and Marie whose souls were stubborn and stiff. Maka typically fell somewhere near the middle, but… this was a different Maka. He really had to get that through his head.

Crona volunteered to go find the Thompsons and Tsubaki, as well as anyone else willing to help, but was stopped before they could leave the library. Someone had been thrown inside through the doors that led to the balcony. Whoever the person was, standing over them, growling, was Blackstar.

Not-Maka stepped back between the shelves, keeping a wary eye on him. The other three, however, rushed forward.

"You-You're not supposed to have fights without a te-teacher to supervise…" Crona reminded. 

Had they not been one of Blackstar's partners, then saying that would've immediately made them his next target. Instead, the assassin just huffed. "Yeah, whatever. I'll get a detention or something, who cares."

"You know you can talk to us, man," Soul offered, putting a hand on his shoulder. Blackstar's frown twitched, and he took a step back, out of Soul's reach.

"I know. I don't feel like talking."

"Maybe you can help us, then?" Kid asked, tone deceptively even. "More hands means she'll learn faster."

"I'm not much of a teacher," Blackstar backed up further, exiting the library and returning to the balcony. The trio followed him, Not-Maka hovering a good distance behind. "Besides,  _ she's  _ the egghead. She'll pick it up quick, with or without me."

"You can't keep wallowing in this, Blackstar, it isn't like you," Kid argued. 

"What? You want me to not be worried for her? Think I'm that  _ heartless _ ?"

"No," Kid crossed his arms, "I think you're acting like a coward."

Kid had struck a nerve and he knew it. Blackstar turned to him, anger in his eyes. "...Those are fighting words, Kid."

"If it'll snap you out of this, then I'll accept your challenge," Kid stated, unbuttoning and taking off his jacket. Soul took it from him with a sigh. This happened way more often than any of them cared to admit.

"It was  _ your  _ challenge," Blackstar corrected, rolling his shoulders, "and I'll make sure you regret it."

"This'll end like it always does, Blackstar."

"Your ass on the ground?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of unresolved issues and unnecessary injuries. And also a stalemate."

"I've beaten you before."

"You mean to say I kicked your ass and then nearly had a panic attack."

"Eh, same thing."

As they bantered, the tension started to lift. Kid was right, as always; their fights tended to follow the same setup, twist, punchline, with little variety. It was actually a welcoming sight in Soul's mind. Maka was always exasperated by these fights, but he had come to find them entertaining. 

_ This  _ Maka looked terrified. Soul frowned, figuring that made sense. She didn't know Blackstar and Kid personally; all she knew was that someone who was a kishin egg in her world and the literal son of Death were about to duke it out, and that sounded pretty life-threatening.

Soul went and leaned against the doorway where she was watching, half-hidden. "Don't worry, nothing too bad'll happen."

She looked at him, disbelieving. "I feel like we have different definitions of what  _ too bad  _ is."

"No, watch," Soul pointed to the fight, which had finally begun after much back-and-forth. She squinted — the two were so fast, the fight was a blur. "I don't think there's been a serious fight between these two since we started dating, now that I think about it. Kid wouldn't be  _ nearly  _ as calm if this was a real fight."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't like fighting people he cares about. The first time Maka and I fought him it took about an hour of debate to get him to agree." Soul shrunk in on himself, remembering how badly they were beat in that fight. "And even then, he was seriously holding back..."

The other Maka didn't respond, but moved out from behind the door to lean against it with Soul. Crona was quick to join them, and Ragnarok became their commentator for what they could make out of the battle.

Not-Maka said something and Soul forced himself to tune them out and listen. "What'd you say?"

She hesitated repeating. "I can't help being afraid of him. Blackstar, I mean. I haven't met him before, but knowing what he's done back home… I'm afraid something will make him snap."

Soul couldn't help but chuckle, and she pouted at him. He shrugged and looked back to the fight, which was winding down. "Blackstar has battled with madness before. His sixth sense is shit, and he's got a good heart. He's down right now, but he'll bounce back soon enough, and then you'll see the  _ real  _ Blackstar."

She sighed. "I guess I have to take your word for it."

"Besides," Soul found it in him to elbow her playfully. "If you forget your fear, you become reckless. Weirdly enough, having fear is what makes us stronger. You just can't let it control you." He looked down at her, giving her a smirk. "That's something they teach at the academy."

She nodded, quiet. "What are they afraid of? The way the fight seems just… it's beyond me."

Soul thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Fuck it, just don't tell anyone, okay?" She gave him a determined nod, and he admitted, "Blackstar's afraid of not being enough, and of losing himself. At least, that's what we think. He'd never admit he's afraid of anything, not even to us. Kid is afraid of disorder, but more than just the symmetry shit. He doesn't want the world to fall into madness, and he definitely doesn't want it to be his fault. I think he's also afraid he'll end up like his brother."

"The kishin?"

"Yeah. But see, they use their fears to make them stronger. Kid doesn't want the world to end, so he fights even harder to stop it from happening. Blackstar's afraid of becoming like the Star Clan, so he fights to be his own person, no matter how narcissistic."

"I see," she nodded. "And Crona? They seem afraid of, well, everything."

Hearing their name, they looked over. "O-Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop-"

"It's fine, Crona," Soul pulled them into a hug with one arm. "We're just talkin' about fear. You don't have to share your story if you don't wanna."

Crona was visibly conflicted for a moment before they found their resolve and their voice. "Be-Before I met Maka… me and Ragnarok were trying to become a kishin." Not-Maka tensed, and Crona hastily continued. "M-My mother made me. She was a  _ terrible  _ person. Words can't describe how bad she was," they shook their head. "I'm afraid of her, still. I'm afraid of being like that again. B-But, you use fear to fight! S-So I fight to ma-make sure I  _ never  _ go through that again."

She nodded, tension evaporating and being replaced with sympathy. At least she wasn't too different in that regard. 

Then, however, she looked to Soul. "What about you?"

Soul looked away. "Don't you have enough examples?"

"Maybe, but you've got me curious."

He sighed. "Of course."

"Y-You don't have too," Crona reminded with a light squeeze.

Soul nodded. "Yeah, but I guess it's not fair to back out now." He looked back at Maka, hesitant. "I'm afraid of losing my family. Not the Evans Group, they can eat a bag of dicks, I mean  _ this  _ family. Crona, Kid, Blackstar, Maka, everybody here. If they're gone, then I'm alone again. So I fight to make sure that won't happen."

Not-Maka stared at him with wide eyes before abruptly looking away. "That's very noble of you."

"Not really. I think it's kinda selfish, actually."

"Protecting people isn't selfish. Especially if they're people you love."

The fight didn't last much longer, and the two boys hugged it out for a long moment afterward, holding a quiet conversation that none of the rest of them could hear. Soul gave Kid back his jacket, and he put it back on.

Blackstar approached Not-Maka with his hands on his hips, a stern look on his face. "So!" he shouted, "You need to learn to fight, huh?"

She backed up. "No, I need to learn to resonate with someone."

"Well, lucky you! Professor Blackstar is good at everything!"

"That's not what I've heard."

There was no room for arguing. Class was in session.


	7. Sister Pistols, Oh, the Time has Come

It was about two days of driving, despite the straight-shot. They slept in the car and tried not to stop too often. When the city of Brooklyn, New York came into being around them, the sun was high in the sky.

Maka hoped their efforts wouldn't be wasted. All the time on the road dug into their training time, and as she had been telling herself, the faster they work, the faster she gets home.

It was lunchtime when they got into the city, and they were starving. Finding a place to park was insanely difficult, and finding a place to eat that didn't require a reservation was almost even more so. 

Finally settling on some drive-thru fast food, Maka found a parking structure to drive to the top of where they could eat and scour the city for the Thompsons. They ate sitting on the hood of the car, and watched the hustle and bustle of the city down below.

"I really hope this was worth it," Maka sighed, expressing her anxieties. "If not, we'll have wasted a  _ lot  _ of time."

"I mean hey, at the least, we'll know if they're in this world or not?" Soul offered between bites of a burger. "That seems like it might be important information."

"I guess."

Soul sighed. "Jeez, you're kind of a downer, aren't you?"

"Hey! I am not!"

"You are too! You just keep seeing the negative part of everything! Don't you know thinking about stuff makes it come true?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Yeah, it's called manifesting."

Maka groaned, her head in her hands. "I guess I should be glad you're as insufferable as you are back home."

Soul pouted, crossing his arms. "C'mon, if I was really so bad, you wouldn't be my partner."

"Pardon me," came a new voice, that of an older man. He had approached their car, his hood casting a shadow over his face, his hands behind his back.

The pair looked over to him, waiting for him to continue. "Yes, are you alright?" Maka asked.

The man looked up, and suddenly they could see his face; his eyes were black, with red irises, and strange grey marks surrounded his eyes and cheeks. "I think, therefore I am, therefore I eat."

Soul recoiled from the man's appearance. "Uh, we have another burger if you want it?"

Maka slid off the hood of the car as the man chuckled, revealing a sword with a dark blade from behind his back. "No, you don't understand. I think, therefore I am hungry… for  _ souls. _ "

Maka grabbed Soul by his collar and pulled him towards her as the man swung, resulting in the attack barely missing. Soul scrambled to get off the hood and onto Maka's side of the car.

"What the hell, man?! What's the matter with you!!" he shouted, hiding his fear with anger.

Maka grabbed his hand. "He's a kishin egg," she hastily explained, "like Blackstar. He's not human anymore, and he needs to be stopped. Transform."

She could feel Soul's confusion in his wavelength, but he complied. Once he was fully transformed, she ran out into the parking lot where there was more space, and she was in less danger of falling four stories off the edge. The man followed her, seeming intrigued. 

"So you're a meister? You know, I knew someone who went to that academy once," the man held the sword out to the side as it glowed and shifted. "She didn't last long."

The glow faded and Maka saw that the sword had become a shuriken. She nearly dropped Soul as she realized who exactly she was facing. 

"Masamune," her shock was soon replaced with a new anger. "You killed Tsubaki, didn't you!"

"Oh, so you knew my pitiful little sister?" he barked out a harsh laugh. "From the looks of it, you're just as weak as she was."

"Tsubaki was stronger than you'll  _ ever  _ be," she spat. "Anyone who abandons humanity for the sake of power is a weak  _ coward. _ "

"Is that something they teach at your precious academy?!" Masamune roared, throwing the shuriken toward the pair.

Maka leapt over it, missing her first attempt to catch it with Soul. When it came back around behind her, she ducked, and caught it with the scythe's blade, but only managed to have it for a moment before it exploded into a cloud of smoke. There was a flash of light, and through the smoke came the man, wielding the enchanted sword again, the blade held high over his head. 

She blocked with Soul's snath, struggling against the sheer strength of the man, but managing to push him to the side so she could roll away and get out of the smoke. 

"How is he able to do that?" Soul asked from the blade, panic in his voice. 

"Tsubaki was a special weapon. She naturally had multiple forms she could take," Maka told him, rushing forward as the smoke cleared. "In my world, she fought Masamune and won, and she got his ability to use the enchanted sword. But here… it looks like it went the other way around."

She swung at the man, connecting, but not very deep. It kept him distracted and bought her some time. She jumped back, putting distance between them, and thought.

"What are you waiting for? You hit him, we can take him!" Soul argued.

"No," she shook her head. "The man isn't the kishin egg. The weapon is. He possesses people and slowly consumes their souls, using them as puppets to hunt down more people."

"Gross."

"Yeah. Blackstar broke the possession with his wavelength, but I can't do that. My next thought is Genie Hunter, but there's no way we can do that, either," she sighed, hefting up Soul again. "We're just going to have to try and get the sword away from the man. Maybe if they're far enough, their connection will break. Then we can deal with Masamune by himself."

She heard Soul grumble before agreeing, "Good enough for me."

Maka and Masamune rushed forward, meeting in the middle. There was a loud  **_CLANG_ ** as the two weapons collided once, twice, three times and then the battle to force the other back began again.

She heard Soul call out for her and a moment later felt something stab her back, waves of pain radiating through her body. She bit her lip, fighting against the pain.

Pushing Masamune back and taking a step back herself, she saw what had attacked her: the shadow of the man Masamune was possessing.

"Fuck," she groaned, "I forgot he could do that."

The man entered a new stance, and the shadow wrapped its arms around the blade. As a beam of darkness shot forward, Maka hit the deck. The beam went over her, but the victory was short-lived as the beam branched out, stabbing Maka's shoulder and slicing her side.

The beam retreated as she cried out in pain, and she tried to focus on the sound of Soul calling for her. He would keep her up, keep her awake.

Maka rolled over onto her stomach and forced herself up. She held Soul with a white-knuckled grip as she dashed towards Masamune again, only to drop and slide under him once she got close. The blade of the scythe left a deep cut in the man's ankle, and he stumbled.

Behind him, Maka quickly got up and rushed forward, hitting the man hard over the head with the tang of the scythe. He held his head, spinning around, and with a shout Maka hit him again, right on the forehead, and he hit the ground.

Maka kicked the enchanted sword out of his hand with enough force to break a finger or two, and it went sliding across the parking lot.

The markings on the man's face faded, and his eyes returned to normal as they fell shut. 

The sword, however, stayed put. It did not shift, it did not move. Maka stepped forward. "Come on, coward. Get up and face us."

"Yeah!" Soul shouted, appearing on the blade. "Who's the weak one now, huh?"

Met with no response, Maka moved forward and stepped on the blade. "There are ways to kill a weapon when in their weapon form, you know. I promise they're a lot more painful than fighting."

It wasn't a lie, but the threat was empty; the only one Maka had known to do such a thing was Ragnarok, during a resonance, and she obviously didn't have access to him.

It seemed to work, though, and the blade glowed beneath her foot and slithered away, forming a man. Masamune was tense, anger and fear radiating from his soul.

He opened his mouth, but she never got to hear what he was going to say. Jumping forward with a fierce roar, Maka swung Soul and the two cut him in half. The body had vanished before it hit the ground, a red soul floating in his place.

Maka let go of Soul, and he detransformed. Hands hovering over her wounds, he was visibly distraught. "Are… Are you okay? You gotta sit down, get to a hospital-"

"I'll be fine," she smiled, trying to reassure him. It hurt like hell, but she had been through worse. She could get patched up later. Pointing to the soul, she told him, "That's for you."

Soul looked over and made a face. "What, the weird balloon? I think I'll live without it."

"No, dummy. It's a soul." Maka walked forward and grabbed it, holding it out for her partner to take. "Weapons eat them, and it makes them stronger. Ninety-nine kishin egg souls and one witches soul, and you become a Death Scythe."

He took it from her, but the face persisted. "...You're sure these things are edible?"

"I promise."

With a sigh, Soul put it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Immediately after, he perked up. "Okay, wow. That… I shouldn't have doubted you."

Maka laughed. "No taste, just the texture, right?"

"Yeah… did you have to convince the other me to do it, too?"

"No, he was all for it. But I asked him what it was like, once."

"Well, we'll have to do this more often," he smirked, cocky and familiar. Maka's heart ached at the sight.

The two made sure the formerly-possessed man got taken care of, calling the police as they took him down to the bottom floor of the parking structure. He was barely conscious as he was taken away in an ambulance, but managed to thank the two of them. He'd be alright.

Maka's back and shoulder ached, but she refused too much help from the ambulance. She let them hastily patch her up, but nothing more. They were on a mission, after all.

Once the ambulance and police had left and the sounds had died down, Maka took a deep breath, snapping her eyes open to get another view of the area with her soul perception. She didn't know their wavelengths as well as she knew her partners, but after years of being friends, Maka figured she'd be able to recognize them.

Despite the crowded, noisy city, she picked up on their wavelengths almost immediately. Opening her eyes, she looked behind her and up. "They're… where we just were?"

The pair hurried back up to the top of the parking structure, looking around for any sign of the sisters. Sure enough, sitting on the roof of Spirit's car, chowing down on what remained of their lunch, was the blonde bob and bright blue eyes of Patty Thompson. The driver's side door was open, and they saw a pair of legs hanging outside the car, the woman's head and torso busy inside. 

Soul stepped forward, and Maka put a hand out to stop him. "Are you trying to hotwire the car?"

Patty looked up from the food, saying nothing. She pounded on the roof of the car. "Liz! Some weirdos are asking about the car!"

There was a yelp, then a bang, followed by an "ow…" and Liz came out of the car. She took one look at Maka and Soul before transforming and landing in Patty's waiting hand.

Before her sister was even fully transformed, Patty had the pistol aimed for them. "It's our car now. Scram."

Maka raised her hands in surrender and stepped closer. "Patty, we're not here to fight. We were hoping you and Liz could help us."

"It'll cost ya," she chimed, eating a fry. "And don't come any closer, or I'll blow your brains out."

Maka frowned, crossing her arms. "C'mon, I know you guys don't work that way."

Patty glared at her, an expression she had never seen on the usually peppy girl's face. "D'you  _ want  _ to get shot?"

Maka shrugged. "Sure. If we can actually talk after."

Patty paused, presumably talking to Liz through their resonance. Then she grinned. "Alright, works for me!"

She pulled the trigger, and Maka braced herself for the shot. It wouldn't kill her, she knew how the guns worked, but it would hurt. The bullet, however, never hit it's mark, instead hitting Soul's arm, which he had transformed in front of Maka as a shield. 

He looked at her, exasperated, as he transformed back. " _ Please  _ stop doing stuff like that. You're gonna give me a heart attack."

Before Maka could respond, another shot rang out, and Soul clutched his arm. " _ OW!  _ What the fuck, man, you shot me!?"

"Calm down," Maka patted his head. "The pistols shoot the meisters wavelength. It's not gonna hurt an innocent soul like you unless they  _ really  _ want it too."

The pistols in question were silent; Patty had put the gun down after the second shot. After another moment, Liz detransformed and approached them. "You…" she started, clearly worried. "You're from the academy, aren't you?" They nodded, and she sighed, running a hand across her face. "Yeah, I figured. Meister-weapon pairs are easy to spot. Well, I can tell you now you came here for nothing, we're not going back."

"We're not-" Maka cut herself off as she realized what Liz had said. "Going back? You went to the academy?"

Liz leaned against a nearby car. "Yeah? Isn't that what you're here for, to bring us back? You wouldn't be the first."

"No, we… well, we did come here to look for you, but not to bring you back," Maka explained. "Soul is very new to, well, being a weapon, and I know you two are skilled in my world, so I figured you may be able to help."

" _ Your _ world?" Liz raised an eyebrow. "You crazy or somethin'?"

Maka sighed. "It's a long story, I'm from an alternate dimension, please don't make me explain the whole thing again."

Patty giggled, jumping down from the roof of Spirit's car. "Yeah, she's totally bonkers, sis!"

Liz shrugged. "Yeah, but who am I to judge. Okay, Miss Alternate Reality, you just want us to tell your boy toy how it works?"

Soul scoffed at the insult, but Maka nodded. "More or less. But now I'm curious. Why did you leave the academy?"

"It's… also a long story. A teacher told us it wasn't safe, and then him and his wife disappeared, so we figured he was right, and ran home," she looked over to Patty, who was talking animatedly to Soul, hopefully about something relevant. "It's not that big a deal. We were each other's meisters, so we didn't exactly leave anyone behind. I'd say the only ones in the school who cared about us were Stein and Marie, and, well...." Liz didn't finish. 

"You knew Stein and Marie?" Maka gaped. No one had even mentioned them since she asked Lord Death what had happened to them. "How long ago did this happen?"

"Uh… Three years, I think? It's a little hard to keep track."

"But, three years ago is when Stein…" Maka trailed off. Lord Death had said Stein went insane and killed Marie, but Liz was saying that he had told Liz and Patty the DWMA wasn't safe, and then the couple disappeared. Who was right? Was one of them lying? Was it possible that both were right, or had been misinformed?

"I heard about the madness thing, too," Liz finished for her. "I don't buy it. They were expecting a baby. I don't think he could hurt her, even if he went insane."

Maka knew that, in her world, that wasn't entirely true, but nodded anyway. "Did he say  _ why  _ the DWMA isn't safe?" Liz shook her head, and Maka frowned. "Had anything weird happened before he left, maybe?"

"Nope," Liz sighed. "He went on some mission, and when he came back he told us that we should leave, or else we might get hurt. That the school wasn't safe. I guess he thought we knew something."

"But you don't."

"I wish I did," she confessed. "Then maybe I could've helped him, or something. Patty and I weren't great students, but he did his best with us. And Marie is just the sweetest lady on the planet, and also one of the baddest bitches I've ever met, and that's a hard line to walk."

Maka nodded. "Do you have any idea where they could've gone?"

Liz gave her a look. "What makes you think I would?"

"I don't know, I'm just… I have a lot of questions, and you're the first person in a while who's been able to give me answers."

Liz stood up straight and patted Maka's head. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. People who ask questions are usually smart."

The older girl gave her a smile and began walking towards her sister. Maka jumped to catch up to her. "Do you think you'd ever come back to the DWMA?"

Liz shook her head. "I trust Stein. If he says it isn't safe, then it isn't. Besides, we're both a bit old for it now."

Maka sighed. "You're never too old, but… okay. It's your decision."

Liz paused, looking to Maka. "You know our names. What are yours?"

"Maka Albarn. My weapon is Soul."

She nodded. "You're a weirdo, Maka, but weirdos can be good people too. Make sure you lock your doors next time. I was pretty close to getting it running."

The sisters taught Soul some stuff about being a weapon that was interesting to him, but in one ear and out the other for Maka. She sat on the trunk of Spirit's car and thought, not for the first time, about what happened to Stein. She now had two stories, and one had much more evidence than the other. 

It's possible that Stein scared Liz and Patty off and then killed Marie and disappeared. But something about that story didn't make sense to her; like Liz said, she somehow couldn't see Stein hurting Marie if she was expecting, even though Maka herself had seen it before. Then, he was under Medusa's influence, but here, there was no kishin. If anything, he would be less affected by madness, wouldn't he?

As the sun sank in the sky, Soul's impromptu lesson ended, and the Thompson's snuck off to go do whatever they do. Maka felt bad she couldn't help them more, that they were back to living on the streets. If they wouldn't come, they wouldn't come, but knowing that didn't make the feeling go away.

They got what they had come for and then some, yet as Maka drove home, she couldn't help but feel like she had failed. 

It took two days, once again. Spirit and Kami were furious that she had stolen their car, but glad her and Soul had made it home safely. Maka barely listened to their lectures and passed out the moment her head hit the pillow.


	8. I'll Come For You - I'm the Hero!

Maka was woken abruptly by a loud bang. She jolted up, looking around her room for anything that could've fallen over; nothing. The door was slightly ajar, just as she had left it, so it wasn't someone banging against her door. 

As she stared at the door, there was a knocking. It was for certain not from the door. She turned around, to the window, and saw a figure hanging from the windowsill.

Blackstar.

Maka jumped out of bed, calling for Soul, not caring if she woke her parents, and Blackstar opened the window and went tumbling onto her bed. He wore a sharp-toothed grin and had seemingly lost his scarf.

"Soul's here?" he bounced, looking excited. "I knew you'd find him! I told everybody, if Stein could figure out this dimensional shit, then you could, too!"

His tone made her pause. This was not the malice-filled voice of the man she had met some four days ago. Instead he sounded… well, he sounded like  _ her _ Blackstar. The boisterous, energetic, narcissistic assassin she loved.

She blinked into her soul perception, and just as soon blinked out of it in shock. In front of her was not someone with a kishin egg soul; his was big, blue, and healthy, radiating with energy and excitement. In addition, it had none of the strangeness she had been getting so used too.

"Blackstar," she stepped forward, reaching for his hands, which he offered and she quickly, tightly took. "I… How are you here?"

He laughed. "Well, that's a funny story, actually."

* * *

"Lord Death wants to see you all," was Sid's initial explanation. After some pestering, he admitted, quietly, "It's about Maka, and the witch."

No one hesitated after the clarification. The group hurried through the halls and into the Death Room, met with blue skies and fluffy clouds, as always. Not-Maka was already there, looking nervous.

Lord Death was the same as ever. "Hey there, howdy, hello! Glad you all made it on such short notice!"

Soul cut to the chase. "Sid said this was about the witch."

He wasn't the only impatient one, as everyone began piping up with comments and questions. Lord Death waved his large hands around. "Okay, okay! Everybody calm down. Yes, this is about the witch. She's in our custody."

"What?" Kid stepped forward, "How? Who found her?"

"It seems Kim and Mifune were able to track her down. They said she didn't put up much of a fight when they found her, that she seemed very drained, but she's more active now."

That night, it would have been a week to the day since the polycule had fought Vermea and Maka went missing. Not-Maka was a quick learner, just like their own, but there had so far been no sign of them switching back.

"She hides for a week and then just gives up?!" Blackstar shouted, angrily pacing. "What a coward, I'll kill her!"

"Hold on now, Blackstar," Lord Death stopped him. "We have her in custody for a reason. Multiple, actually. First and foremost, the Grand Witch has no idea who she is! She'd like to get a better grasp of this woman's identity before we do anything. But also…" he tone dropped, "...we may be able to get her to switch our Maka's back."

Everyone perked up as they realized he was right; if her big attack on Maka was the spell to switch souls, then all she would have to do is cast the same spell on her again, right? It was almost too easy.

When suggested to Lord Death, however, he deflated. "Yes, theoretically… but she doesn't seem too keen on listening to us. As a matter of fact, she's not very compliant at all! Right now, we're waiting for Maba to arrive and hopefully identify her. Even if she can't, Vermea might listen to another witch! So, unfortunately, we'll have to sit tight a little longer."

The group was dismissed, and disheartened. Not-Maka tagged along with them, equally disappointed. While she overall got along with everyone, she didn't belong there; she wanted to go home just as much as everyone else wanted  _ their  _ Maka back.

Tsubaki was at the side of a fuming, uncharacteristically quiet Blackstar, trying to convince him, and herself, that Vermea would come around soon. He didn't react other than a grumble and half-hearted nod.

Later in the day, after an intense and somewhat cathartic training session with Mifune, Blackstar sat with Angela in front of him, her hat on his head, trying to be gentle brushing her long hair while she prattled on about the magic Kim had been teaching her. Normally he would be joking around and teasing her, but today he had other thoughts. Very angry thoughts.

"Ow!" Angela yelped, and he snapped out of it. She looked over her shoulder and pouted at him. "I said be gentle, meanie!"

"Sorry," he shrugged, and returned to the task at hand. Angela faced forwards, quiet.

"Are you upset because of the witch that's here?" she asked, voice quiet.

He sighed. "Yeah. She hurt Maka, and even though we  _ have  _ Vermea here, no one's doing anything."

"Why don't you talk to her?" she asked innocently. "She's at the school, right?"

"Don't give him any ideas," Mifune entered and sat across from the two of them. "If we were told not to mess with her till Maba comes, then we don't mess with her till Maba comes."

"Do you think I can say hi to Maba,  _ chichiue _ ?" she looked up at him.

"We'll see,  _ chiquita _ . She's a busy woman."

Blackstar tuned out the father-daughter duo, back to thinking. Angela had a point. He could just go looking for Vermea himself. If anyone could knock some sense into her, it's the almighty Blackstar!

Feeling the slightest bit better, Blackstar put Angela's hair into a braid like her and Mifune had taught him, set her hat back on her head, and then said goodnight, leaving them to, according to Angela, have dinner and watch Cinderella. 

The group had planned on meeting up at Gallows Manor for dinner, just hoping they could have a relaxing night and maybe make some plans for when they would get to talk to Vermea. Blackstar didn't head there.

He'd have time before people started getting worried; he tended to be fashionably late anyway. Instead, he sped up the stairs of the DWMA and snuck into the building.

Students were allowed in at night, so he technically wasn't breaking any rules. As a kid, he took pride in learning to either pick or break locks to get into places his dad wouldn't let him go. Of course, he would get in trouble from Sid after the fact, but it had been worth it.

He made his way down, down, down into the depths of the DWMA's catacombs. He passed what was once Crona's room, and Medusa's brief cell. Without soul perception, it took a bit of looking, but he found her.

The witch paced in her little room, muttering to herself. Blackstar pounded on the door. "Hey! You remember me yet?"

She came up to the door peeking through the little slots. "Oh, yes. You're the rowdy one whose wavelength I stole. How've you been?"

"Not great. My girlfriend got sent to another universe."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

He punched the door again. "You're the one who did it, you stupid witch! And you're gonna bring her back, or else!"

A long sigh came from the other side of the door. "What, you want me to just snap my fingers and switch them back?"

"Exactly!"

"It doesn't work like that."

"Why you-"

"Besides," she interrupted, "I don't get why you're so hung up on her. You're going to break up anyway."

He froze, shocked and heartbroken, before any emotion was replaced with a boiling rage. "Oh, yeah? And how do you know that? Choose your words carefully, they might just be your last."

Vermea was unphased by the threat. "I'm from the future, dummy. And, well, an alternate universe, but it seems close enough so it's bound to end the same. She marries a weapon named Spirit. I thought she had already, but I guess I was off by a couple years. It's finicky stuff, this type of magic…"

Just as quick as it came, the anger vanished, replaced with confusion. "She marries a guy who has the same name as her dad? I doubt it."

"Her… no," Vermea sounded annoyed through the door. "Her father's name was Amano Hirohito. Spirit Albarn is her weapon, the scythe. I always knew he dyed his hair…"

Blackstar shook his head. "You are really stupid. Maka's  _ weapon  _ is Soul, we're dating him too. Her  _ dad  _ is Spirit. He's a scythe too but like, bigger, and kind of a whore. Cheated on her mom and all that. Why am I telling you this?"

"Who the hell is  _ Maka _ ?"

"What do you  _ mean  _ who the hell is Maka?!" he yelled. "You sent her into a different dimension you asshole!!! And you're gonna bring her back,  _ today!" _

Vermea was quiet in her cell. As the silence grew, so did Blackstar's impatience. He banged on the door again. "Hey!! I'm talking to you!! Tell me how to bring Maka back!"

"What year is it?" she asked, quiet.

"2007, stop dodging my questions!!"

"No, no," she mumbled. "That's way too late. How did I mess up that bad?"

" _ What _ are you talking about?!"

"The woman I sent to the other dimension was my old friend, Amano Asuka. You may know her as Kamila Queen."

"I…" Blackstar thought hard. The name sounded familiar. "...Maka's mom?"

"That would explain why they look so similar…"

"So, you weren't looking for Maka… you were looking for her mom?" he thought for a moment, and huffed. "Well, who gives a shit! The person you switched is Maka, and you have to switch her back!"

"She's a lot like her mother," Vermea commented, not really talking to Blackstar, "she may be just as much help."

"Help? Can you stop being cryptic already!!"

There was a bang as Vermea slammed against the door, her eyes barely visible through the little slots. "I cannot bring her back. Not if there's a chance that she can help me. I'm sorry."

"Why would you attack someone you were going to ask for help?"

"She didn't listen to me in my world, either. I was… frustrated. I decided I just wouldn't give her the choice."

Blackstar huffed, leaning against the door. "What's so bad over there that you need help, anyway. If you couldn't get anyone there, it's probably not that big a deal."

"Does a war between witches and Death sound important enough to you, child?"

He looked up to her eyes, squinting. "So you're trying to save your own skin?"

"The witches don't want this war. We've just been trying to live normal lives. Death can't leave his city, but he is determined to destroy us. I don't know why, but I've seen it," she sighed. "It's nothing new, either. Asuka…  _ Kamila  _ left the witching world because of it. She joined the academy in hopes to learn more, maybe do some good while she was at it. I heard she was a very good meister, so I thought she'd come back and help, but…"

Once again, Blackstar felt angry. This time was different, however; instead of anger  _ at _ the witch, it was  _ on behalf  _ of the witch. As much as he didn't want too, he did feel bad for her. They had just barely avoided a war between witches and the DWMA in  _ this  _ world. He didn't want to imagine how it would be if they hadn't.

He frowned. "So you won't bring Maka back?"

"Not at the moment, no. She could still return on her own."

"...Could you send me there, too?"

She blinked. "What?"

"The other Maka said that I exist in that world, and you've seen how strong I am. I can help you with your war thing, and I can help Maka get home."

"I…" she trailed off. "I suppose-"

"Great!" he whooped, kicking the door out of impulse. "Then let's do it, c'mon! Hit me with your best shot!"

Vermea was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. This is going to hurt."

Before Blackstar could respond, he felt a pull in his chest. There was a light coming from the same spot, and the brighter it glowed, the more painful the pull was. He couldn't stop himself from screaming, and moments later, he collapsed.

When he woke up, he was outside the DWMA, somewhere in the city. Kilik stood over him, pots at the ready, looking rather confused.

"Oh, hey man," Blackstar managed to say, sitting up. He held a hand to his chest; it still ached. 

"How…" Kilik trailed off. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Your soul changed. How? Did you… I don't know, repent or something?" He squinted at Blackstar, frowning. "You still  _ look _ like a kishin egg, physically."

Blackstar looked at himself. He was wearing different clothes, and had more scars than he recalled, but nothing about him looked evil. Not any more than usual, at least.

Standing up, a bit wobbly, he looked for something reflective and found a puddle just past Kilik. The meister didn't stop Blackstar from getting there, but remained suspicious and ready to fight.

Finally getting a good look at himself, Blackstar gasped. His eyes were stars, his teeth were sharp, his tongue was long. Definitely inhuman.

Blackstar rubbed his eyes. "Well, I guess it worked, then. And the other Maka wasn't lying…"

"Maka?" Kilik piped up. "Like Maka Albarn?"

"Yes!" he dashed over, "You know her? Where can I find her?"

"Uh, sorry man," Kilik took a few steps back, "I only met her once. I think Ox ran into her and her weapon a couple times, though?"

"So she found Soul? Awesome! This'll be a breeze! Thanks, Kilik!"

With that quick goodbye, Blackstar ran off through the city, not really having much of a plan.

* * *

"...and then I thought I might as well check the apartment, and here I am! I'm a genius, I know," he grinned, sitting cross-legged on Maka's bed. 

Everyone else in the apartment had come to find out what was going on some time before, and while they didn't know Blackstar, they had the same reaction as Maka.

"You're a moron," she sighed. "Now we're  _ both  _ stuck here."

"Not for long! With your brains and my brawn, we'll help the witch and get home in no time!"

"Blackstar," Maka's voice grew cold. "She  _ attacked us.  _ She's obviously lying to keep herself alive."

"I don't think she is-"

"She claimed my mother was a witch, Blackstar."

"I mean," Blackstar looked to the woman in the doorway, "you could just ask her."

Maka followed his gaze and met her mother's eyes. They stared for a moment, and then Kami looked away. Spirit too, looked surprised. 

"I told you, the other day, that I had to talk to Lord Death," Kami stated. "It was about Vermea. She came to see me, had some conspiracy theory about the war. I told her I wouldn't help her and she left. Lord Death has always known that I was a witch. I thought I should warn him about her."

Blackstar stood on the bed. "Someone came to you looking for help, and not only did you refuse, but you ratted them out?! What the fuck!"

"She has her life and I have mine. I wasn't willing to put my family and my livelihood at stake for a threat that didn't exist."

"And you ended up doing it anyway!" Blackstar pointed to Maka, who was glaring daggers at her mother. "You wouldn't help and now  _ your  _ Maka is in another universe, learning resonance and how to fight from scratch because _ you _ wouldn't let her go to the academy."

"Everybody get out," Maka's voice cut through the arguing. " _ Now. _ "

Slowly, everyone complied. She shut and locked the door behind them. 

When the door opened again, Maka had changed from her pajamas to her usual mission attire, but with a white frock coat instead of the black one. Her hair was loose — after Soul cut it in the fight with Blackstar, it was just above shoulder-length and easily manageable.

She stormed through the house and opened the door. Finally, in the doorway, she looked back. 

"I'm sick of having to fix other people's mistakes," she addressed the room. "I hate that it keeps coming back to me. But if no one else is going to find out what the fuck is going on, then I will."

Blackstar nodded, joining her by the door. "You won't have to do it alone. Blackstar the Great is here to help!"

"Me too," Soul walked over. "I mean, I'm your partner, right?"

Maka gave the two boys a thankful smile, and turned to leave. They followed her into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Spirit asked, distraught.

Looking back over her shoulder, Maka sent him a confident smirk. "I'm going to find Stein."


	9. Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Maka's plan was easier said than done, but she wouldn't hear a word otherwise. The first step was finding someplace high up, and there was no place in Death City taller than the DWMA.

Maka was hesitant to return to the school again after what Liz had told her. Plus, now that known-kishin-egg Blackstar was with them, the group was at risk of being involved in even more fights, and yet, she was certain it would be the most surefire way to accomplish the huge feat necessary to track down Stein.

They snuck through the school and went to the highest place they had access too, which was the top floor balcony. They managed to get a bit higher when Blackstar showed Maka and Soul how to climb the outside of one of the towers.

Blackstar sat with his legs dangling over the side as Soul transformed. Catching him, Maka looked out at the horizon. 

"I've only done this once, with a different wavelength, and we were able to resonate much higher than we can now to pull it off," she prattled on.

"Not to mention you're looking for someone who might be dead," Blackstar added, cheerful.

Soul sighed. "Well, knowing that, I'm  _ sure  _ this'll work."

Maka tightened her grip. "We have to try. I believe Stein is alive, and I'm sure he knows something. Not to mention, he's a skilled meister and soul researcher. He can probably get me and Blackstar home quicker than we could on our own."

"Well," Soul appeared on the blade, "let's get to it then."

Maka focused on her soul perception, stretching as far as she could go. Soul did his best to boost her, revelling in the sensation of his soul wavelengths matching hers.

As they continued, the pain in Maka's chest returned, faintly. She did her best to ignore it, focusing on how she remembered Stein's wavelength to be like. She knew it would be a little different, it seemed to be a universal difference, but if Blackstar and Soul's were so similar, then surely Stein's would too.

The duo focused, reaching as far as they could. After several minutes, she managed to just barely feel Stein's soul. She felt a smirk form. "Knew it."

"Okay, but where is he?" Blackstar asked, jumping up.

Maka tried to hold on to her fleeting grasp on Stein's wavelength, following it back. "He's… surrounded by water. An island, maybe? West of here."

"California's west," Soul offered, "but so is, like, Japan. The Philippines. Hawaii. There's a whole lot of possibilities, there."

"I can't tell exactly where from this far away," she grumbled, "but if we start heading that way, I should be able to trace it back to him, narrow down the options. Though, I don't think I could've sensed him if he was in Japan or something."

"Alright, then west it is!" Blackstar bounced, looking around. "Which way's west?"

Maka opened her eyes, setting Soul down as he detransformed. She pointed opposite of the late-morning sun. "That way. The main problem will be getting there."

"Oh, yeah," Blackstar messed with his hair, frowning. "The bike won't fit all three of us, will it?"

"I still can't believe I can drive a fuckin'  _ motorcycle  _ in your world," Soul huffed, crossing his arms.

"You  _ can't  _ here?!"

Maka sighed, looking to climb down. "Let's see if we can rent a car, I don't wanna steal Papa's again. They'll probably be guarding it more now, anyway."

Maka and Blackstar got down easy enough, but Soul had more trouble, almost getting stuck more than once. They snuck back out of the school and into the town.

The drive was long. Through the desert, turning into lush forests, through mountains. Maka managed to follow the wavelength as it took them southwest, to the coast. Just as evening was creeping in, Maka stopped them just before a large, red bridge, shrouded in fog.

Soul squinted. "Is this… San Francisco?"

"Looks enough like it," Maka nodded. "He's near here, I can tell."

"Well, it is an island. But it'll take forever to search, even with soul perception…"

"We have to try," Maka began driving again, crossing the bridge. "I just don't know why he would come here. It's not even that far away…"

"I mean, you know Stein," Blackstar piped up from the backseat. "He's all about his aesthetic, and this place sure has enough fog for it."

The city was bustling, and they struggled to find a place to park. The hills were steep, and there was no easily accessible point to reach and search for Stein's wavelength again. 

The trio sat on a bench, frustrated. Maka tried to use her soul perception, but was repeatedly snapped out of it by the sounds of the city, and the overwhelming number of wavelengths. When she  _ did  _ manage to catch a hint of Stein, it just led her back to the ocean.

She leaned back against the bench, sighing up at the grey sky. "I swear, something's blocking me. I've been able to sense souls in crowded areas before, and it doesn't make sense for him to be in the middle of the ocean."

Soul leaned forward, watching the bay. "What about Alcatraz?"

"What?"

"There's an island, an old prison-"

"No, no," Maka cut him off. "I know what Alcatraz is. Why would he be hanging around a tourist trap?"

" _ Tourist trap? _ " Soul gawked. "That shit's fucking haunted! It's been abandoned for years!"

"What's Alcatraz?" asked Blackstar, busy planning how he could Assassin's Creed his way up a building. 

"It used to be a prison but they couldn't keep it open," Maka calls over her shoulder. "So now it's a tourism thing, at least in our world."

Soul settled a bit. "Well, here it's fucking haunted. The prison closed and then they tried to do something with it? But people kept coming back scared out of their skins. I think the DWMA even got involved at some point."

"Yeah," Blackstar nodded, "that sounds like the nutty professor."

Maka thought for a moment. She tried again to reach out with her soul perception, looking for anything on Alcatraz Island. Once again, she got a glimpse of Stein's wavelength, but then felt blocked. 

Opening her eyes, she stood. "Okay, it's worth a shot. I think I felt him there, and there's  _ definitely  _ some kind of block."

Soul pulled himself up with a groan. "Maybe I shouldn't have recommended we go there…"

Blackstar, who had climbed about a story up, jumped down onto the bench with a laugh. "What, are you scared?" 

His grin was sharp and his tongue flopped around, and Soul cringed at the sight. "...I'll be fine. You might wanna hide your face."

"Am I known around here too?" the assassin stood straight and adjusted his collar to cover his mouth.

"I doubt it," Maka chimed in, "but I think most people know a kishin egg when they see one."

Blackstar grumbled as he jumped down from the bench, standing between Maka and Soul. "Yeah, yeah. How are we gonna get to this island, huh? We don't have a boat."

"I doubt there are ferries to take us like there are back home," Maka admitted, beginning to walk to the bay. "I can think of one thing, but…"

The two boys looked to her, expectantly. Feeling their gazes, Maka frowned. "In our world, my soul allows me to use my weapon to fly," she turns to face the two of them. "I think Soul's snath is long enough for both of us."

"Oh yeah!" Blackstar bounced, excited. "Why didn't you think of that earlier?"

Soul frowned. "I have a feeling there's a catch."

Maka nodded. "It's something I have to do by resonating. If it's strong enough to send me back, and we're high up, or over the ocean, we might all fall and die. Furthermore, it might not work. It took me and my Soul quite a bit to master it."

"Yeah, that's…" Soul trailed off, deadpan.

Blackstar, however, was unphased. "Oh, please. We can survive a little fall. Let's do it!"

There was little discussion between them as they made their way to the beach. Despite the risks, they had no other way to get to the island. Given it's reputation in this universe, Maka doubted anyone would be willing to take them there.

Part of her hoped that her fear  _ would  _ come true. She'd be done with this nonsense, she could go home, back to her partners, her life. But Blackstar —  _ her  _ Blackstar — was here. Furthermore, she made a promise to help teach Soul. And now, she was untangling this mystery on behalf of the witch who sent her here.

She couldn't leave yet. There was too much to do.

Soul transformed, and Maka held him tight. "Ready?"

"Are you?" His face appeared on the blade. "We can look for another way…"

"There isn't one," Maka shook her head. "Let's go."

The pair poured their souls and energy together, and Maka tried to envision the ever-elusive wings. There was a girl, only a little older than Maka herself, who also had a grigori soul. Tsumugi Harudori had managed to access her wings in her weapon form when she was just a NOT student. Surely, with all her experience, Maka could make it work.

With a gasp, she opened her eyes, clawing at her chest. The pain was back, stronger than ever before. It was dizzying, and she was immediately overwhelmed. She tried not to cry out.

In her spiral, Maka felt a pair of strong arms envelop her, pulling her into a tight, grounding hug. With one hand, she held tightly to the cool metal of Soul's weapon form, and the other grabbed the fabric of Blackstar's shirt.

Slowly, the pain subsided to a dull roar, and Maka felt like she could breathe again. Only then did she pull out of the hug. She kissed Blackstar on the forehead and whispered a thank you.

Now stable, Maka looked to the scythe in her hands, and found that despite the trouble, the plan had worked — Soul had wings, and the duo of meisters hopped on and set across the turbulent, grey ocean.

Blackstar kept hold on Maka during the journey, and she was grateful for it; there was more than once where the pain returned and she nearly fell off. She did her best to keep them above the waves, but they couldn't avoid everything.

Finally, flying through thick fog, Blackstar called out. "I see something! Is that it?"

Maka followed where he pointed, and soon saw it too; a large, off-white building, jutting out from the fog. Soon, rocks and more of the building came into view.

As they neared, Maka felt a buzzing in the back of her head. The boys had grown quiet, and the air was tense. The fog suddenly got thicker.

"What was that?" Soul's voice called from the scythe, fear tinging his voice.

Maka and Blackstar looked around, but neither could see anything through the fog. Maka was afraid to risk using her soul perception, but decided it was best so they could keep navigating.

Looking through her soul perception, she still saw nothing. There were only faint glimpses of wavelengths coming from the island, nothing nearby.

Blackstar yelped, and the scythe dipped downwards. Maka quickly pulled up and looked back at him, annoyed. "What? There's nothing here, I just checked."

Blackstar was looking frantically around, seeming more angry than afraid. "I saw it!! There was a big shadow! A dragon or something!"

Maka rolled her eyes. "Not funny." She searched the fog again for any shadows or souls; still nothing.

Until, blinking out of her soul perception again, Maka spotted a pair of glowing eyes peering back at her through the fog. She glared back, and they quickly disappeared. "Okay, maybe something is out here. Let's just hurry."

Speeding up, Soul began muttering. "I said this place was haunted, why did I suggest we go here, we're all gonna die…"

"We're not gonna die," she reassured.

"Yeah!" Blackstar shouted. "I'll kill the damn dragon before it even has the chance!"

No sooner than he had said that, the eyes reappeared, much closer and much, much larger. The shadow of a face appeared behind them, and then a long, wavering body. It let out a deafening roar, and the trio screamed back.

As the dragon lunged for the three of them, Maka drove down, going under it and putting all her energy into going as fast as possible.

Her chest stung, it was hard to breathe, and she couldn't see anything through the fog. The dragon was hot in pursuit, she could hear it breathing down her neck. She pushed the resonance higher.

There was an odd sound, like a bubble popping, and the fog was gone. The dragon, too, seemed to disappear. Maka barely noticed any of it, and flew towards the ground, crash-landing on the roof of the tall white building.

Her head was swimming, her chest felt like it was on fire — was this death? She thought back to Vermea. It felt like when she got sent away… maybe she was going back. Swallowing dryly, Maka wished it wasn't as painful.

Maka blinked, and couldn't see the sky anymore. Instead, there was a grey ceiling, and she could see Blackstar and Soul in her peripheral vision. Groaning, she forced herself to sit up, and found that instead of the ground she was expecting, she was on a bed.

The boys, once they realized she was up, rushed to her side. Both looked hesitant, and Blackstar spoke first. "Maka? Hey… is it you?"

She rubbed her face. "Who else would it be? How did we get in here?"

"I think it's still our Maka," Soul ignored the question. "Or, uh,  _ your  _ Maka."

"I mean, the other Maka met both of us before," Blackstar frowned. "Maybe something happened back there, too?"

Growing annoyed, Maka flicked both of them in the face. "How did we get in here?"

Blackstar giggled. "Okay, yeah, our Maka."

Before either could actually answer her question, a door opened and in walked a small girl with a large hat and wide, tired eyes. Maka looked at her for a moment before it clicked. "Angela? How is she here? We're on Alcatraz, right?"

The girl in question was nervous, jittery, and would occasionally disappear if Maka looked at her in a certain way. She snuck over to Blackstar, dropped something near him, and hurried off, shutting the door after her.

The assassin's face fell. "We're in Alcatraz, yeah. It's, uh… Well, it's a witch sanctuary. Angela lives here with Mifune."

The young witch had given him some bandages, as the two meisters had gotten quite a bit scraped up in their crash-landing, and he double-checked that Maka's wounds were properly wrapped as Soul continued the explanation.

"They said only people who are of witch heritage should be able to get in here, sometimes they can bring guests," he shrugged, messing with his hair. "We figured that, since your mom is a witch, apparently, that was why you could find it through the barrier."

"Yeah, I think I felt it," she admitted, thinking back to the bubble-like pop when the dragon was chasing them. "I guess it's some kind of huge soul protect. What about the dragon?"

"A spell."

"Probably like Medusa's snakes," she grumbled, feeling rage boil inside her just from the thought of the snake-witch. "She better not be here. I'll kill her again."

"Well, they do want us to talk to the Grand Witch."

"Maba is here?"

Soul shook his head. "Uh, the samurai said her name is Eruka."

She jumped up. "Eruka Frog? How did  _ she  _ become the Grand Witch? I guess I don't know how it works, but still…"

Blackstar shrugged, seeming satisfied with the wrappings on Maka's arms and legs. "Who cares? She wants to meet us, and she runs the damn place. Maybe she can tell us where Stein is."

"I'm sure I could find him now that I'm  _ in  _ the barrier," Maka crossed her arms.

"I'm sure you could," he agreed, "but I thought maybe we could ask her about Vermea. Use it as like, an information-exchange thing. Plus, after that crash," he met her eyes, soft but determined, "I don't want you getting into a fight with a witch when you're already hurt. That's just stupid and you know it."

She pouted, knowing he was right. "Fine. Let's hurry and go. I want to find Stein."

"You just woke up, are you sure you're okay to go?" Soul hovered, rising as she did.

Maka waved him off. "Please. I've been through much worse than a little crash."

Soul let his hands drop to his sides. "The crash wasn't what I was worried about." He didn't elaborate further; Maka ignored the line of thinking.

The three left the room and were met with a small living room. Angela was sitting on a couch, but jumped and disappeared upon seeing the three of them. 

Blackstar stepped forward. "Angela, it's okay. We're gonna go to Eruka now, can you tell us the way?"

"Upstairs, right side. Hard to miss it." The voice was decidedly not Angela's. The trio turned to see Mifune entering through a door that led into some kind of hallway, sword-bag at his side. "You'll have to forgive her, Miss Albarn. She isn't very trusting of newcomers," his eyes narrowed. "Most aren't."

His phrasing sent her mind back to the night with Vermea, and she squinted back at him. "Did they tell you my name?"

He nodded, and Angela reappeared at his side. He patted her head softly. "You should hurry. She's a rather impatient frog." Angela nodded in agreement, still staring wide-eyed at the trio. 

Blackstar gave a nod back to Mifune and Angela. "Thanks for all your help."

The three shuffled out of their house, and the door was shut behind them. Blackstar let out a long breath, clenching his fists. "She's… so different," he muttered. "Just the other day I was brushing her hair. But Mifune said she doesn't let anyone touch her but him. Not even other kids."

Maka pulled him into a half-hug and spared a glance at Soul. "I know. It's…" she looked away, "...weird, to say the least."

Soul bit his lip. "Something bad's happened. Sanctuaries are for endangered animals and shit, not  _ people _ …"

"Maybe we'll find out from Eruka," she offered, collecting herself. "Ready to go?"

The boys nodded, and the three headed up the stairs. Sticking to the right side, Mifune was quickly proven right; there was a door that was surrounded by lights and plant life, likely some kind of charm, in addition to many signs on and around the area that all read something along the lines of "Grand Witch" or "By Appointment Only."

Maka took a breath and knocked on the door. When there was no response, she knocked louder. One of the signs flipped over to read "Do Not Disturb." Frustrated and impatient, Maka tried the door.

Much to her surprise, it was unlocked. Inside was a sight she was not expecting.

It was very homey, first and foremost. Clearly a witch's home, but it was clean and cozy. In the center of the room was a small table, at which two people were seated at. Maka recognized them both; on the left was Eruka Frog, her bright hat hanging on the back of her chair, clearly pregnant, and sitting across from her was the much larger form of the immortal werewolf man, Free. They both stared awkwardly at her as she stood in the doorway.

Finally, Eruka cleared her throat. "I did switch the sign, you know."

Maka sighed. " _ You _ called us here. The least you could do is be prepared for when we show up."

"...Fine, good point. Come in." The witch stood, as did Free, and together they brought three more chairs to the table. Gesturing to them, Eruka invited them all to sit down. The door shut behind them.

"Well," she sat back down at the head of the table, "I guess we should start with introductions? Though from what I've heard, you may already know me… I'm Eruka Frog, Grand Witch of the Alcatraz Sanctuary. This," she gestured across the table, "is my husband, Free. You all are?"

"Uh," Soul cleared his throat. "Soul. ...Just Soul."

"Blackstar," he grumbled, leaning back in his chair.

"Maka Albarn," she nodded, "and yes, I've met you before. Me and Blackstar both."

"Yes…" Eruka cleared her throat. "Mifune recounted that you were from… another dimension."

"I know it sounds impossible-" Maka began, but Eruka raised a hand.

"I believe you. I'm just surprised it happened. I mean, I've only known one witch with the ability to do such a thing, and we haven't heard from her in… what's it been, months?"

Free nodded, solemn. "She left over the summer, from what I remember. Nothing since."

"Normally I'd take that as a good sign, but she went looking for help. I was worried she'd been killed," Eruka admitted, taking a sip of what Maka hoped was tea. "If you're here, then I guess she just wore herself out."

"She's in DWMA custody back in our world," Blackstar offered.

"Apparently she was looking for my mother," Maka explained, "and thought I was her. If we had met maybe two days ago, I'd ask you to just send me back, but there's clearly something going on."

"And you want to help?" Free raised an eyebrow. "A bunch of academy students want to go against the reaper? …Why do I doubt that?"

"I'm still surprised you even made it through the barrier," Eruka sighed, hands on her stomach. "I guess there's no harm in explaining. If you pull anything you'll be ripped to shreds in an instant, so," she shrugged way too nonchalantly.

Taking another sip of her tea, Eruka explained. "Lord Death has always wanted to eradicate witches. It's nothing new. But in recent years, he's gotten more aggressive, to the point of complete extermination, so we started banding together and creating these little covens. We'd work together, defend each other and our towns. It only lasted so long."

"It's a war," Free said plainly. "One we didn't ask for. Most witches just want to live normal lives, but Lord Death prevents them from doing that. There are kids born in here that have never left the island, because they're easy targets."

"Is that what happened with Angela?" Blackstar asked, leaning forward. 

Free shook his head. "No. She doesn't talk much about it, but according to Mifune, he first found her being tortured by DWMA agents. That's the word he used — tortured."

The assassin got up, knocking over his chair in the process, and promptly began angrily pacing around the room. Maka couldn't hold it against him; emotions high, but no one to punch.

"Eventually," Eruka continued, "the survivors found each other, and we came here. There were some stray souls and such, and it's tough to live in a jail, but we've made a community here. We're safe, and that's what matters."

"Why don't you fight?" Soul asked. "I mean, this place is huge. If every cell had a witch in it, that's gotta be what, 200, 300 witches? That's a shit ton of magic, right?"

"It does sound like a lot, doesn't it?" Eruka rested her chin on her hand, looking at Soul. "But for every witch, there are a good hundred or so students at the academy."

"Not to mention Death himself," Free added.

"And a lot of the witches here have had very little training due to," she gestured, "all this. We wouldn't stand a chance."

Taking another sip of her tea, Eruka sighed. "That's the other saddest part, in my opinion. So many potential young witches, but we don't have enough teachers. I'd love to take on an apprentice…"

Maka raised an eyebrow. "What's stopping you?"

Eruka and Free froze, staring at each other. Eventually, the witch cleared her throat. "I… The barrier. That's my magic making it.  _ Only  _ my magic."

"Even the slightest bit more from Eruka, and the barrier could go down," Free frowned. "She might as well not have magic at all."

"It really doesn't do much good if non-witches keep getting in," she forced a laugh, but it died quickly. Holding her head in her hands, she mumbled, "I'm an awful Grand Witch."

"I mean," Soul raised his hands awkwardly, as if he was going to pat her shoulder, "I'm sure there are worse options. Like, uh, Medusa? ...She's a witch, right?"

At the name, Eruka tensed. She looked up and glared daggers at Soul. Maka could've sworn she saw the witch trembling. "How do you know that name?"

"I've mentioned her a few times," Maka fiddled with the tablecloth, angry. "In my world, I killed her. I just hope she's dead here, too."

"She is," Free confirmed.

"And thank fuck for that," Eruka sighed, relaxing slightly. "The one good thing Crona did."

Across the room, Blackstar stopped his pacing. "Crona's here? Where?"

"They're back in Death City," Maka called over to him. "Me and Soul saw them before we went to Brooklyn. They're a kishin egg, too."

Blackstar deflated and resumed his pacing with more fervor. Eruka growled, pulling at her skirt. "Crona is a traitor, that's what they are. I thought that once they killed Medusa they'd finally get to live their own life, but I should've known her kid would be just as much of a snake as her."

"What do you mean?" Maka tried to ignore how Eruka's words stabbed at her heart.

"They're working for Lord Death," Free explained.

"What?" she gaped, shaking her head. "No, I saw them. They have a kishin egg soul. Why would Lord Death employ someone the school is meant to hunt down?"

"Because Crona has witch heritage," Eruka grumbled. "They were close with a lot of powerful witches that knew and worked with Medusa. Crona is basically a professional witch hunter."

"Like we said," Free sighed, "it's Death provoking this war. Not us."

Maka took a moment to catch her breath, attempting to control the rage and betrayal she felt coursing through her veins. "Vermea knew this. She wanted my mom to help, and Mama still works with the academy. She probably knew about this. Who's side is she on? What the  _ fuck  _ is happening?!"

Soul took one of Maka's hands and held it tight. "We'll figure it out. I mean, we're here, right? We can help." He then looked to Eruka and asked, "Where can we find Stein?"

"Him and his family are on the bottom floor, by the garden," she told them. Looking back at Free for a moment, she rubbed her eyes. "I never knew your mother, Maka. I took Vermea's word because I had faith in her powers. She let me down," she looked into Maka's eyes, green reflecting grey. "Can I trust you not to do the same?"

Maka nodded with no hesitation. "This isn't right. I have a bad feeling that if I don't do something, it'll only get worse."

Eruka smiled, briefly, and then nodded to Free. He got up and walked into a side room. As he did so, Eruka got up and walked to a small kitchen area. Digging through some cabinets, she pulled out a small bottle, filled with a glowing blue liquid. She returned to the table and set it in front of Maka.

"I can't use magic, but I can still make potions," she chuckled. "This is one designed to increase soul resonance. I make them for a couple that lives here, but I'm sure they can spare one."

A moment later, Free returned from the side room, carrying a briefcase. He set it on the table, and Eruka looked at it with hard eyes. "And this… is the last of Medusa's experiment," she sighed. "I don't know what she was planning to do with it, but I've held onto it just in case. I think it'll help you."

Maka reluctantly took her hand back from Soul and brought the briefcase closer to her, opening it. She clenched her teeth upon seeing that it was exactly what she expected; a syringe, and a container of black blood. She closed the case with more force than necessary, thoughts swimming in her head.

"Thank you," she pocketed the potion and stood, picking up the briefcase. It was heavier than it looked. "I promise. We're gonna figure out what the hell is going on. I won't let myself go home until this is done."


	10. Doctor Stein, I Presume?

Standing outside of Stein's house, Maka felt uneasy. After the new information given by Eruka and Free, Maka had been thinking a lot about the DWMA, and Lord Death. She knew that her own dimension was different, and she thought she had figured out how. Now, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something.

The fact that the outside of the little home was not covered in zigzagged stitches, as per Stein's usual aesthetic, was just the cherry on top of her anxiety sundae. The black blood briefcase weighed her arms down uncomfortably, and it felt like it was dragging her soul down, too.

Soul was the one to knock on the door. A few moments later, it was answered by a short woman with blonde hair and an eyepatch.

"Miss Marie," Maka blurted without thinking. She bit her tongue as the woman raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't been called  _ that  _ in a long time," she laughed. "How can I help you?"

Blackstar pulled his collar up, hiding his mouth. "We're looking for Stein."

"We… have a lot to talk about," Maka settled on saying.

Marie seemed suspicious, but let them in nonetheless. A little boy, a softer blond than her, ran up and hugged her leg. Maka smiled at him, glad that Asger still existed in this world.

Marie picked up her son and led the group to the back of the little house, and out another door. It led outside, where the sun was setting (Maka wondered how long she was unconscious for) and there was a large stretch of grass.

On the field was the recognizable figure of Stein, his glasses in his hand as he talked at a pair of young women. As they got closer, Maka found she recognized them as well; it was Kim and Jaqueline. She supposed it made sense, after all she didn't remember seeing either of them at the DWMA, and Kim was a witch. If this world was at war with witches, of course Kim would seek shelter elsewhere. She was more surprised Jackie had come as well.

The power of love, she decided. It was a powerful thing. She knew it well.

Spotting his wife and the trio, Stein seemed to dismiss Kim and Jackie, and the two girls headed off, further down the field and towards another building.

The doctor met them in the middle, looming over the teens and Marie, a characteristically bored look on his face, but Maka could see in his eyes that he was curious.

"They were asking for you," explained Marie, setting down Asger who wanted to run around some more. "I'm pretty sure they're the ones everybody's been talking about."

"Oh, for certain," Stein nodded, looking at Maka in particular. "You've gotten much bigger since I last saw you."

"Yeah, so I've heard," Maka crossed her arms. "Seems like I just kinda disappeared for a while."

Stein chuckled. "I'd be more willing to bet that it's everyone you've asked that disappeared. So, did your mother send you? She was pretty much the only person I was worried about finding me."

"No. I found you myself."

"Huh," he raised an eyebrow. "Did she finally let you go to the academy?"

"I'm from an alternate dimension," Maka sighed. "Where I'm from, Blackstar too, you're still a teacher at the academy. So is Marie. We've been students of yours for years…" she shook her head. "That's not why we came here. Everyone thinks you're dead, that you killed Marie, but you clearly aren't. What's going on?"

He scoffed. "That's really all you came here for? Desperately missed a lunatic professor?"

"I came here because I thought you could help us," Maka told him, getting frustrated. "Me and Soul found Liz and Patty in Brooklyn. They said that you warned them about the DWMA, and now we've found out about the war, and Crona. There's  _ clearly  _ something going on here, and I know you know something!"

Stein rubbed his face with a sigh, glancing at Marie. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked between the group. After a moment, he hummed. "I've never seen Vermea's magic at work in this way. Nice to know it's actually possible."

"You're avoiding the question," Maka insisted.

"Are you sure you didn't just come here to have me help you get back?" he tilted his head. "Because I'm willing to bet I could do that, and quite frankly, I would love to try."

"Look, man," Soul interrupted, "she told you what we came here for. Are you gonna help or not?"

"Franken," Marie went to his side, "if they're telling the truth, then we should too. We could use all the help we can get."

"I know, I know," he tried to sound humorous, but it didn't show on his face. He sat down on the grass, and Marie joined him. "Time for dialogue, I guess."

"We just want to know what happened," Blackstar mumbled. "Then we can fix it and get the hell out of here."

"Well," Stein twisted the screw in his head a few times as he settled, "it started on a mission. Me and Marie were sent to Alaska because Lord Death had heard of a coven there. According to him, they were planning for a strike against the DWMA, and he wanted to strike first. When we got there, however, we were met with a tiny community of witches who wanted nothing to do with the academy. They were surviving the cold together, they didn't have the resources to fight a war, nor did they want too. We stayed for a while, scouring around, looking for any sign of foul play, but there was nothing. Just peaceful people, most of whom had never hurt a soul in their lives.

"Once we were sure there was nothing up, we returned to the academy and told Lord Death as much. His first excuse was that he sent us to the wrong location, so we were sent to another, this one in Louisiana. The coven here was much bigger, and there were some who talked about taking down the academy. But we managed to talk to the Grand Witch of that coven, and she told us pretty much the same thing as the people in Alaska; most witches didn't want a fight. They just wanted to live their lives. When we brought up the supposed plan, she couldn't give us any details. We did our own looking too, of course, and there was absolutely nothing. There was no attack planned. It was fake.

"We came back again, and told Lord Death what we had learned. I remember being glad that nothing came of it. Asger wasn't born yet, but he was on the way, and I didn't want him to be born into a war. Given our positions at the academy," he gestured to himself and Marie, "part of me wondered if he'd have the chance to be born at all."

He paused for a moment, and Marie took his hand. He smiled back at her, genuinely happy, before continuing. "He didn't believe us. He was insistent that there was an attack being planned, and that we had to strike first. He was obsessed, it was like nothing I had ever seen," Stein shook his head.

"That was when," Marie spoke up, "we figured he wanted the war. He can't leave Death City, but he couldn't wait for a witch or a kishin to come waltzing in, so he would attack first and then they'd come flooding to him. I swear, it was like a bloodlust or something."

"I tried to reason with him," Stein grumbled, "but he wouldn't listen and we ended up arguing. And then…"

The trio had been enraptured by the story, and now looked between the two storytellers. "What happened?" Soul found his voice.

"He threatened us," Marie stated, her single eye hard and cold. "He said that if we didn't come back with good news next time, he couldn't guarantee the safety of Asger."

"What the  _ fuck!"  _ Blackstar shouted, and Maka held his arm to prevent him from pacing around again. This was too important for him to storm off.

"That's what I thought!" Stein laughed, joyless. "We had to go along with it. Or at least, we had to pretend to."

"The next coven was in Maine, so we decided we'd run the opposite direction," Marie supplied. "But before we could leave, we needed a cover story. I'm the one who came up with the idea of murder-disappearance." She seemed much too cheerful sharing that tidbit.

Stein nodded. "It was too easy, honestly. The lab is practically on top of a graveyard. I found a few, put them together, and soon we had a double of Marie. With some extra effort, we also had Asger, and a murder scene. We left before anyone found it, and let the scene speak for itself."

"The one hiccup was running into the Thompsons'," Marie thought back. "We had gotten pretty close to them. They were trying their best for better lives. I still think we should've taken them with us…"

"It would've been too risky," Stein sighed, resigned. "But I'm glad to know they're okay. We were collecting some… set pieces, if you will, and thought they saw us. So, we at least warned them that something bad was going on."

"Once it was done, we left. We stumbled upon Kim and Jackie in the city, and they brought us here. I'm honestly surprised it worked as well as it did."

"Death was probably just happy to get rid of us, regardless of how."

"Lord Death wants this war so bad," Maka processed aloud, "that he's willing to threaten and possibly kill his own employees. And at some point he found Crona and hired them on, despite the fact that they're a kishin egg, and the child of a notorious witch. Then the question is... Why? Why is he doing all this? What's the point of going this far?"

Stein shrugged, adjusting his screw more. "I wish I knew. But you're a smart kid, always were. I'm sure you'd eventually get it if you stuck around and peeked in enough holes."

Maka frowned at him. "I  _ am  _ going to stick around. I promised Eruka that I'd help, and Blackstar promised Vermea. I'm not leaving until this is solved."

Stein met her eyes, serious. "That could be years. I somehow doubt Vermea's spell can last that long."

Maka stands, determination burning in her eyes. "Then I'll just do it quicker."

"Yeah!" Blackstar jumped up, his grin showing off his sharp teeth. "If it's Lord Death's ass we gotta kick, then so be it! That's one way to surpass God!"

Soul craned his neck at his now-standing teammates, and joined them. "I mean, of course I'm in, too." He smirked, "I actually live in this world, might as well defend it."

Marie joined them in standing, looking just as determined and very proud, and pulled Stein to a stand with one strong tug. Dusting himself off, Stein smiled at the trio. "You seem like good kids. I wish I knew you better."

"I dunno," Crona muttered. "I think they've been pretty annoying, and I haven't even interacted with them much."

Stein spun around, and standing some ways behind him was the demon swordsman themself, black-blood wings encircling them, Ragnarok already in their grip. Now that she was seeing them up close, Maka thought they looked so much more tired than they did back home. 

"How did you get in here?" Marie demanded.

Crona barely even looked her way. "My mother was a witch. Just like Maka. Really, the question is how did  _ you  _ get in here?"

"They're here for us," Maka looked them in the eye. She had fought them before, she could do it again. "They must've followed us here."

"I've known where this place is for a long time," they shrugged. "I don't tell Death everything, yanno. Kind of rude to assume that of me."

"What do you want?"

"Oh, you were right about that part," they raised Ragnarok as the mouth formed on it's blade. "We'd both like you out of the way. Especially now that you know so much. That's not very nice, betraying your school and family like that."

Maka caught Soul on instinct, just as he finished transforming. She had fought them before, but she didn't want to.

In a flash, Marie was in her weapon form, and as Stein caught her, Maka could already see his wavelength sparking at his fingertips. On her other side, Blackstar was bouncing in this place, muttering to himself about sparring. 

Maka took a deep breath, grounding herself. This was not  _ her  _ Crona. This one knew what they were doing, and actively chose to do it. The dry wavelength she was so used to wasn't present. This Crona was one she wouldn't be able to save.

Crona lunged forward, their person silent and their sword screaming. They were coming straight for Maka, but Stein got in the way, blocking with Marie and landing a hit from his soul wavelength. Crona barely reacted, simply flying up.

From above, they shot down a Screech Alpha attack, which the group had to jump out of the way to avoid. They landed shortly after the bolt did, stabbing their blade into the dirt. Their wings disappeared, and in their place, tendrils burst out of the grass, grabbing hold of the meisters and swinging them around. During the contact, however, Blackstar landed his own soul wavelength attack, but was then tossed beyond the field and down a hill leading to the beach. Maka, however, managed to cut the tendril holding her before it could throw her too far. 

Stein, once he landed, rushed for Crona with a shout. His soul wavelength never landed, as Crona stabbed him clean through the shoulder with a Bloody Needle. They swiped at his feet, and the doctor jumped backwards.

Maka swung wide at Crona, similar to the attack on Masamune, but they noticed and caught the blade, stopping the momentum entirely. They spun and threw Maka and Soul aside.

It was then that the battle briefly stopped, as the sound of crying could be heard. Asger came running around the corner, having gotten himself lost in the chaos. Maka felt her blood run cold as Crona turned their head towards the sound.

Asger ran into the house, calling for his parents, and Crona looked back at Stein, still holding Marie. 

There was barely a moment of hesitation before they sent another Screech Alpha attack towards the house. 

Stein moved faster than Maka had ever seen him move in his life, nearly beating the attack to the house. The collision shook the ground, and Marie destransformed in order to better get through the rubble and desperately look for her son. 

Maka felt sick. No, this was not the Crona she knew and loved.

And now that they had distracted the death scythe and her very skilled meister, their attention was solely on her.

She rushed forward, frantically thinking for a way out of this, and Soul's blade collided with Ragnarok's. What followed was a familiar, but entirely unwelcome sight.

The sword screamed, and vibrated, and cut into Soul's weapon form. Red blood sprayed from the wound, and Soul cried out in pain. Maka jumped back, memories of the first time it happened forcing their way to the front of her mind.

"I thought I couldn't get hurt like this!" Soul yelled, clearly terrified.

"Ragnarok is special," she hurriedly told him, her eyes never leaving Crona. "The black blood makes them hard to hit, and helps them attack others."

"How the fuck do we beat them?!"

"Stein beat them with his soul wavelength. I beat them by convincing them not to fight." She tightened her grip as Crona stanced up again. "I have a feeling that won't work this time."

They rushed forward, and Maka dodged to the side, spinning around and landing a deep cut on their back. She struggled to pull the blade back out as their blood hardened around it.

Another attack was already coming at her, and she dodged. Just like back in the church, it was all she could do. Crona would swing, or stab, and Maka would duck, or jump out of the way. They moved in sync, as if in some twisted dance.

It can only last so long, thought. Eventually, Maka miscalculates and jumps right into an attack. As the weapons collided, Soul let out a strangled cry of pain. Maka jumped back, and seeing Crona already coming at her again, did the only thing she could think to do.

She threw Soul aside, as far as she could. When the attack came, she ducked, and tried to reason with them.

"Crona," she began, already sounding like she was begging, "I know you're better than this. I've  _ seen  _ it."

Another swing, this one cutting into Maka's arm. She bit back the pain she felt and continued. "That kid you attacked, Asger? Where I'm from, you're his older sibling, and he adores you!"

They swing again, and Maka barely avoids losing an eye. The blood feels heavy on her face. " **_Please,_ ** Crona! You can still get better, I know it! Just stop!"

They were near the edge of the field now, and as she jumped back from Crona's next attack, she tumbled and fell flat on her ass.

They loomed over her, sword raised high above their head. "I know what I'm doing, Maka," they tell her. "I have my reasons."

Maka braced for the hit and the shrieking blade came down, surely to kill her. Another failure for the list. Now she'd never get home.

Death never came. Nor did pain. Maka dared to crack her eyes open, hoping to see Crona reconsidering their actions.

Instead she was meant with the broad shoulders and bright blue hair of Blackstar. He was slightly hunched over, and Maka could see a puddle of blood forming, but she also saw that he had a hand on Crona's arm.

The swordsman went flying back from the wavelength attack, and Blackstar cackled. "Don't you fuckin' try pulling that shit on my girlfriend," he spat.

He spared a glance back at Maka, giving her a reassuring smile, before lunging after Crona again. 

The two exchanged blows, and Maka made her way to Soul, who had detransformed. He was badly cut in a few places, but alive. Feeling tears in her eyes, Maka acted on impulse, and pulled him into a kiss.

Realizing her mistake, she jumped back, but before an apology could leave her lips, her attention was drawn by a yell of pain.

Blackstar was losing. Granted, Crona looked in terrible shape, but their black blood and kishin egg soul must have given them the extra strength they needed. Blackstar was stumbling to his knees, trying to back away.

Maka stood, holding her hand out for Soul so they could hurry and join the battle, but no sooner than she had done so, Crona struck again. 

Blood poured from Blackstar's neck as he gasped. Maka felt a scream rise in her throat as she rushed forward, weaponless and without care, to his side. She practically laid on top of him, holding her hands tight over his neck, tears streaming down her face.

"Blackstar," she croaked out, and he looked up at her. "Blackstar, stay with me, please…"

He only grinned, his usual, careless, confident grin, and shakily put a hand on her cheek. She rested her forehead against his, looking into his eyes for as long as she could. There were stars covering most of the iris, but the color beneath was still Blackstar.

There was a pain in her chest. There was the emotional pain, the knowledge that she was going to lose him, that he was moments from death. But there was also the familiar, breathtaking pain that she had felt when resonating with Soul.

Maka would've gladly given up her quest and gone home that second if it meant saving Blackstar. She thought hard, and wished with all her might as she kissed him, salty with the taste of tears and blood.

He stilled below her, and she pulled away with a sob.

For a long moment, Maka couldn't hear or feel anything. When Blackstar suddenly coughed and jerked, she couldn't help but jump back, the shock of it bringing her back to Earth.

She tried to return to his side, but he was lashing out; even Crona had to back up. As she watched him struggle for breath, fight to survive, she couldn't see anything familiar in his eyes.

Finally,  _ finally,  _ he stills. His body becomes enveloped in black, a swirling mass, and with a flash, all that remains is his soul; red, scaly, and evil. 

Despite it all, Maka laughed.  _ Her  _ Blackstar had a human soul, boisterous, confident, and blue. "He made it home."

Crona let their sword disappear and summoned their wings, lifting off into the air. "You know," they called, getting Maka's attention, "my blood is black. I wonder what Lord Death's will be." They looked into her eyes, their own cold and unfeeling. "That's for you to decide, you know."

With that, they took off into the fog.

Soul joined Maka, who was cradling the soul. "I love Crona," she admitted, "but they better fucking stop hurting the people I care about."

The two shared a dry laugh, and she handed the soul to him. She didn't watch him eat it.


	11. The Underground Battle Commences

"You resonated with _Maka_?" Tsubaki gaped, admittedly feeling the slightest bit betrayed. "But how? I know she has weapon blood, but is that even possible?"

Blackstar shrugged, sitting up in the bed he had been confined too. "I'm just saying, that's what it felt like. And I made it back in one piece, so."

"I'm sure it is possible," Kid noted, pacing nearby, "but the question then is why did _only_ you come back? If you both resonated strongly enough that you got to come home, why is Maka still there?"

Sitting near the windowsill with Crona, Not-Maka frowned. "I felt like I did when I first got here, with my chest hurting and all that. Maybe I was supposed to do something…"

"D-Do both people need to re-resonate, maybe?" they offered, quiet. They were trying not to think about how, technically, _they_ were the one who killed Blackstar.

"No," Blackstar shook his head. "It's simpler than that. She doesn't want to come home yet."

The room immediately broke into an uproar, and Blackstar held his head, still reeling from his near-death experience. Tsubaki whistled and everyone shut up.

"I swear, how many times have we all been in the hospital?" she huffed. "You guys never learn how to be quiet."

"Why would she not want to come back?" Soul pressed, but not as loud. "Is that place really so much better?!"

Blackstar looked at him and laughed. "Oh, please. As if she could ever replace us! Look," he readjusted how he was sitting, "she was onto something over there. About the war, and Vermea, and a bunch of shit. I could tell she was figuring something out. You know that egghead — she's a fixer. She told Eruka and Stein and those guys that she wasn't leaving until she fixed whatever was going on."

"And how long do you think that'll take?" Liz asked, leaning against a wall, Patty sitting beside her.

Blackstar shrugged, leaning back. "Knowing Maka, a couple days, max."

* * *

"We need a quicker way back to the DWMA," Maka explained, quickly eating breakfast. Stein and Marie had let the two of them spend the night in their home, as they got healed up and came down from the high emotions of the battle.

Soul frowned. "After all we've learned, you want to go _back?_ Crona's probably told Death about this, he's gonna kill us."

Maka shook her head. "We have to go back. That's where the problem is rooted, and I think I might know what part of it is."

Pushing away her plate, she used some paper and pencils that Asger had offered her and drew a picture. She showed it to the rest of the table.

"In my world, the kishin was sleeping under the DWMA," she explained. "When I told this to Lord Death, he got defensive, and said there was nothing down there. But I think that was a lie."

"What _is_ down there, then?" Marie asked. Stein, meanwhile, took the drawing and adjusted his glasses, studying it.

"I'm not sure," Maka admitted, "but I think it's worth looking into. Because hearing all this, and thinking back to when I talked to him… I don't think that's the real Lord Death."

"But," Soul tried to wrap his head around the theory, "who else could it be? I mean, we saw his soul, right?"

"The soul tethered to Death City is definitely a reaper's," she nodded, "but I don't think it belongs to whoever is in the Death Room."

Stein set the drawing down. "What makes you think all this? It sounds like you're just throwing things out there."

"Everyone that I've met in this world is similar to how they are in my world — even Crona and Blackstar," she explained. "When me and Soul first fought Blackstar, he said that he was a God, that the only thing that mattered was winning. Crona still acts a lot like how they did before we got them away from their mother. You all are so similar to how I remember that it trips me up. But Lord Death just… seemed so different. He talked the same, he was just… wrong. And now all of this, about the war, and the things he's done. It's just so different, it doesn't feel like him."

"He sounds the same as I always remember," Stein huffed. 

"I think he was probably replaced a long time ago."

"Well, I'm with you," Soul told her. "Any ideas for a quicker way back?"

"I'm worried about trying to fly again," she put a hand on her chest, feeling the ache. "And the car's probably been towed or something by now. It'll only take a day or so to drive, but I'm also nearly out of gas money…"

"There might be a way," Stein sat up, stretching. "Free is a master of spatial magic. He's talked before about teleportation; he may be able to send you to the academy."

Maka stood. "That's perfect!"

As Maka collected the resonance potion and the briefcase, Marie pulled Stein into another room. They came back a few minutes later, Stein collecting Asger and Marie approaching Maka.

"We're coming with you, if possible," Marie stated.

"I thought you ran away from the academy," Maka questioned. "Are you sure you're willing to go back?"

"We talked about it. If you're right, Maka, then this is too big to run away from anymore. You're taking the war straight to the instigator; you're going to need all the help you can get."

Maka nodded, solemn. Marie was right; this would be dangerous. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that even Marie and Stein's help wouldn't be enough. Hopefully they could find more people willing to fight.

The group made their way through Alcatraz up to Eruka and Free's room. Stein, Asger still in his arms, didn't even bother knocking and just let them all in.

Inside, the couple were looking through a thick, leather book on a couch. They tensed as the group came in, and then sighed when they saw who it was. 

"Does no one knock anymore?" Eruka grumbled, closing the book and standing.

"You have a bad habit of not answering the door," Stein shrugged. "We need a favor."

The witch looked between the group, and her face softened at the lack of Blackstar. "I figure it's about Crona, and what happened yesterday?"

"More or less," Maka shrugged. "We need to get to the DWMA. We heard that Free might be able to send us there."

The werewolf in question got up from the couch with a frown. "Why would you do that? Crona knows where we are, we don't need more academy moles ratting us out."

"Listen, I have a plan. Stein and Marie are coming with us. We just need to _get there_. Can you do that or not?"

He sighed, and Eruka put a hand on his arm. "Explain to us the plan, first."

After the explanation, the witch and the werewolf took a moment to ponder. "I don't know. He'd have to have been replaced a _long_ time ago. Me and Free are several hundred years old, and he's never been any different. Humans don't live that long."

"I think whoever it is is a reaper, or something else non-human," Maka supplied.

"So it _could_ be Lord Death."

"It's not. I _know_ it's not," Maka insisted. "I don't know how, but I'm just so certain in this that I have to try. I'm not saying come with me, I just need someone to help us get there. Can you do that?"

After some consideration, they agreed. The group went up to the roof, backtracking to Mifune and Angela's house to drop off Asger. Maka hoped that he wouldn't be left an orphan.

Maka, Soul, Stein, and Marie stood close together in a circle that Eruka had drawn with chalk. As Free prepared the spell, Eruka gave them a warning.

"I don't care what you do, or what you find. But if you get caught," she rested her hands on her stomach, a dark expression crossing her face, "don't tell anyone about this place. Or I promise, dead or alive, you _will_ regret it."

Maka met her gaze with confidence. "Somehow, I don't think we'll lose."

"I hope you're right."

With a flash of green light, the circle lit, rising higher, and when it disappeared, Maka saw the familiar steps of the DWMA just down the street. On the steps, watching with wide eyes, were Ox, Harvar, Kilik, and the pots.

"Professor Stein? Miss Marie?" Kilik jumped up, and the rest followed. "You're… alive? How? What?"

Harvar spotted Maka and frowned. "Of course it's linked to you."

She glared back at him. "Yeah, it is. And you know what? We need your help."

"Wait," Ox looked between the group, "can we get an explanation first? This is insane…"

"Here's the explanation — Lord Death has been lying to everyone. He is instigating a war against the witches, planning a genocide. He's hiding something under the school, and furthermore, I don't think he's the _real_ Lord Death at all," Maka looked at the group, who all had expressions of disbelief.

"When I went down there in my world, it was difficult," she held tight to the briefcase. "And if this goes bad, we'll need all the help we can get. Please, will you come with us?"

"This is a serious accusation," Harvar rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Do you have _any_ proof?"

"Nope."

"Of course," he sighed.

Kilik crossed his arms. "That assassin, the kishin egg. He said that you knew a lot. I… I'm willing to trust you." The pots nodded in unison.

Ox looked to Harvar. "I don't know about the rest of it, but I've told you that I thought there was something under the school. This is at least a chance to check it out."

Nearly pouting, Harvar gave in, and the group now consisted of four meister-weapon pairs. That was more than they had when the kishin was revived, and they would likely face fewer obstacles. It would work.

Maka led them up the stairs and through the school, down to where Stein had taken them the night of the kishin's revival. It was just as dark and oppressive as she remembered.

The weapons transformed, and the meister's continued forwards. Down steep stairs, breaking through locked doors and barriers, climbing their way through rubble. Maka half-expected to find Medusa, or Crona, or Free. Instead, there was nothing. The place was desolate, empty, and old. It felt like a graveyard.

Maka wasn't there when the kishin was resurrected, but Blackstar and Kid had told her about how gross it was. They also told her about the hallucinations they experienced. She was prepared to face something similar, but as they pressed further, no one experienced any. The air was calm and musty. It made her anxious.

Ever deeper into the catacombs, the anxiety began to wash away, replaced with a strange tranquility. Maka chose to view it as confidence, even as it began to make her sleepy, weighing down her feet.

Her fellow meisters seemed to feel similar, slowing down, and even stopping a few times. She ushered them forward, and told Soul to make sure she stayed awake and moving.

Finally, there were a large set of double doors. The rubble seemed to suddenly end, and everything looked pristine and orderly. The meisters worked together to force them open. Despite their age, the hinges did not creak.

Maka froze as light poured into the room. Deeper inside, suspended by polished chains, was a large, skin-colored bag, a skull painted onto it. Checking with her soul perception, Maka did not see a soul inside the bag; only the souls of the people in the room with her. They were very, _very_ deep down.

Despite the lack of a soul, Maka knew it was alive. She walked forward, grip tight on the briefcase. The peace and tranquility she had felt earlier returned, making her slow to a stop. She kept her eyes on the bag.

Around her, the rest of the party had done similar, some even sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the walls or support beams.

"Maka!" Soul shouted, likely not for the first time, and Maka flinched. She shook her head. "What the hell is going on?"

Gritting her teeth, Maka forced herself forward. "It's some kind of wavelength, but I can't sense a soul. I feel like I've heard of this kind of thing before…"

Standing before the large bag, Maka set Soul down and opened the briefcase. Her arms felt heavy, and she moved slowly. Soul had to snap her out of her trance more than once as she assembled the syringe and filled it with the black blood.

Finally, she put all her strength into puncturing the bag with the needle, holding onto her consciousness. Now was not the time to fail.

With a pop, the needle went in and Maka fell against the syringe. The blood was injected into the bag, and Maka fell to her knees, holding loosely onto Soul, hoping that she hadn't made a mistake.

The rest of the people in the room were snapping out of their own dazes. Some yelled at Maka for messing with the bag. Some questioned what she had done, or what it was. The peace she felt drowned them all out.

Finally, there was a rumbling. Maka couldn't feel the metal of Soul's weapon form, and couldn't force herself to get away from the now convulsing bag. Someone pulled her by the collar of her jacket, and she didn't fight.

She watched, unable to do anything else, as limbs emerged from the bag, finding their place in the leathery skin. Her view was interrupted by the red eyes and white hair of Soul. His mouth was moving, he was saying something, but she couldn't hear it. She tried to listen, to focus on the man in front of her. His hands squeezed hers, and she suddenly felt like she had emerged from underwater.

"Soul…"

He smiled. "Are you with me, partner?"

"I'm here."

"Look… I'm kinda worried we might die right now," he spared a glance over his shoulder at the bag. "So I wanted to ask you something. If you weren't from a different dimension and all that… would you go out with me?"

She stared into the red eyes she loved so dearly, and couldn't help but laugh. "In my world, we already are."

She saw him smile, flushed, before a loud crash got their attention. The two looked back to see the bag, or rather, a person, on the floor. It had black hair, with three white stripes connecting all the way around. A cloak of shadows materialized around it.

Finally, it looked up, directly at Maka. It had ringed, golden eyes. Eyes that she had known for many years.

"Kid," she stated. She still couldn't feel his soul, but she would recognize him anywhere.

"Maka," he grinned. His voice was older, but still familiar. "I shouldn't be surprised you know me."

She stood, and walked towards him, Soul at her side. Kid struggled to stand on weak legs. "How did this happen…?"

His smile faltered, and sadness shined in his eyes. "My brother put me here."

"Asura?"

He nodded. "He was a coward. He craved power, became a kishin. Our father was old and weak, so I ascended and fought on his behalf. But," he laughed, humorless, "I was still too weak."

"Asura won…" Maka muttered. Suddenly, everything clicked, and she gasped. "Asura is the one impersonating Lord Death! But… that doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't he be causing chaos across the world? Why isn't everything drowning in madness?"

"I trapped him here," Kid smirked. "When he was tearing me apart, I planted my soul in the city. We are both fragments of who you call Lord Death; if I can't leave, neither can he. And since he can't ascend as a kishin, he can't kill me. We're both trapped until one or both of us die."

"The city _was_ in chaos for a while," Stein offered. "Historical records say as much. But around the time the academy was founded, things settled."

"No one would help him, I figure," Kid shrugged. "You can only hear so much from down here, through wavelengths and such. But he had a strong hatred of witches. When they wouldn't come to help him kill me, I figure he decided he'd find a way to get revenge."

"So the academy hunts witches… as revenge," Ox sighed. "And the war-"

"I figure," Kid managed to stand, "that it's also a way to spread chaos and madness. As well as the hope that somehow it'll kill me." Kid sighed. "He keeps his identity a secret, _the truth_ a secret. He gets everything he wants in one fell swing."

"Yeah," Crona nodded, "that's pretty much it."

Maka whipped around. "How did you-"

"You're not hard to follow, you know," they grumble, not looking her in the eye.

"Why?"

Crona fidgets. There was no sign of Ragnarok, or the wings she had barely seen them without. "I wanted… power. I wanted revenge on my mother. I wanted to take Asura's place." Their voice grew quieter as they continued, "But now I don't know."

"You don't know?" Maka snapped.

"You…" they groan, frustrated. "You're different. You're _weird._ I don't like it. I wanted to kill you, but now I don't know."

She sighed. "Sounds familiar. But we don't have time for this. We have to go kick Asura's ass, now!"

Crona looked back at her. "Oh, yeah. You're going to want to run. He's pretty mad."

"What do you mean?"

Her answer came in the earth rumbling around them. The neatness of the room crumbled, and she heard Kid make a sound of frustration. 

Crona gestured for everyone to follow them. "I told you. Better run, or you'll get crushed."

The group ran back the way they came as the room collapsed around them. The rest of the catacombs weren't in much better shape. Pillars were crumbling left and right, and the group had to move fast to avoid being crushed.

Finally, they came to a room that _wasn't_ falling apart. They still hurried into the academy, but there was less of an immediate fear of death.

Within the halls of the DWMA was chaos. Students were running around, frantic. Some fought each other — some were fighting monsters. Kid ran for the entrance, and the rest followed. Somewhere along the way, Maka lost sight of Crona.

At the top of the academy stairs, they could see the whole city. Normally, it was a beautiful sight. Now, it was a battlefield. Maka saw kishin eggs, a few witches, and fights everywhere. And in the center of it all, waiting at the bottom of the stairs, was Asura. He had abandoned the mask and gloves, but still wore the shadowy cloak.

Spotting Kid, he grinned, and even from so high up Maka could hear him.

"Hello, brother."


	12. All for One

There was no hesitation. Kid jumped down the stairs, landing a blow on Asura. The battle between the two commenced, large, magical, and epic.

Maka had defeated the kishin before, and was fully prepared to do so again, but yelling from the city caught her attention. There were people,  _ citizens _ , in danger from these attacks.

"Okay," she took Soul's hand, "here's the plan. Split up around the city and take out any threat you can. Kid will handle Asura. Understand?"

Everyone gave their affirmatives, and Soul transformed. Maka leaped down the stairs, dashing for the nearest monster.

Maka and Soul cut their way through kishin eggs, aiding people where they could. For a while, they had a very good success rate.

Nearing the plaza where she had fought Vermea — it felt like it had been months since it happened — Maka spotted a familiar face.

"Mosquito?" she growled, tightening her hold on Soul.

"Let me guess," he teased, "an old friend?"

The man in question had just finished sipping the blood out of someone they were too late to save. He tilted his head at her. "I don't believe we've met. Oh well. I'm sure I'm not missing much."

His nose shot towards her like a bullet and she deflected with Soul's blade, swiping at the small man immediately after. She swings again and hits, but the impact shakes her bones, and she jumps back.

"Is this guy made of metal?" Soul complained.

"He's an annoying little bug, that's for sure!" she swung again with the blunt side of the blade, colliding with Mosquito and sending him flying off to the side. 

The battle wasn't over, though; Mosquito got back up quickly, and with a whistle, four large monsters joined him. He laughed as they rushed the scythe meister.

As Maka dodged attacks and cut through flesh and bone, she found herself overwhelmed. There were too many of them, and soon the monster's attacks were too quick in succession to properly dodge. Claws cut into her skin, teeth snapped at her arms and legs, and she was knocked against walls and dumpsters.

As they closed in, Maka struggled to a stand, holding Soul in front of her. She would fight or she would die. She had come this far.

With a loud  **_HONK HOOONK_ ** , two of the four monsters went flying, one dying from the impact and leaving behind just it's soul. Maka gaped at the sudden vehicle that had appeared, and the window rolled down. 

Inside, Patty giggled, and Liz gave a smirk. "Funny running into you here," she commented, and Patty jumped out. Liz soon joined her, and the younger girl transformed into Liz's hand. The other monster that they ran into was getting up, and she quickly shot it until it died.

Mosquito was fuming, ordering the remaining two monsters to attack. One lunged for Maka, and she swung, cutting off a paw. It screeched, and continued to scream as a second scythe stabbed it through the stomach. Maka recognized the blade, and as the monster disappeared, her suspicion was proven correct.

"Mama, Papa…" the elder scythe meister smirked, and Spirit appeared on his blade. 

"Maka!!" he yelled, looking near tears. "I'm so glad you're safe!! Please stop getting into these situations!!"

Maka couldn't help but laugh at how similar the situation was to the Spirit she knew. Kami, however, soon sobered.

"I should've believed you, and Vermea," she sighed. "I'll make it up to her when I see her again."

"How about for now," Liz yelled, "you help us fucking kill this asshole!"

Mother and daughter shared a nod, and launched into battle. The three pairs attacked Mosquito from all sides. Much like Maka mere minutes before, he was quickly overwhelmed, and finally he broke away and ran.

"I'll get him," Kami told the others, "go find others!"

With that, she ran. Maka looked to Liz, but before she could say anything, there was a crash.

Asura and Kid's battle had come near them, colliding into a building. From what Maka could see, they were rather evenly matched, but at the moment, Kid was losing. 

Not really thinking, Maka rushed forward, jumping up rubble, and swinging down into Asura's chest. The kishin shot a glare over his shoulder and knocked her off, sending her tumbling back down the rubble.

Liz noticed, and running forward she threw Patty in the air. With a flash of light, the two switched places, and Patty shot rapidly at Asura. 

Successfully distracting him, Kid used some kind of magic that Maka hadn't seen before to fire a blast of light at his brother, sending the man flying back.

Asura caught himself, and sent his own blast back at Kid, who dodged but was still partially hit.

Asura was again knocked down towards the ground, this time by a golden light coming from Stein and Marie, who leapt onto the man from a balcony. 

Maka and Soul resonated. His blade glowed with their combined energy, and Maka's chest felt pained again. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep fighting, to maintain the resonance. She was this close to fixing things. She wasn't leaving yet, damn it.

The three pairs and Kid attacked, but Asura was much stronger. He sent blasts to burn them, could send people soaring down the street with just a flick, and withstood many of their strongest attacks.

When Maka managed to embed Soul's blade into Asura's neck, he let out a scream that shook the whole area. Maka held onto the snath, despite the urge to cover her ears. Her chest ached and she wanted to scream with him.

The kishin grabbed the scythe, and Maka with it, and threw them across the street into a building. There was nothing to stop a collison, and as she hit the wall, Maka felt Soul slip out of her hand and blacked out.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Maka realized she was floating. All around her was a void, dark and spiralling. In the middle of it all, Maka saw herself. She reached up, and her supposed mirror image did the same. Maka found her hair was short, as short as it was back at home. Looking down, she saw her clothes were different as well.

Looking back up, Maka furrowed her brow. "Who are you?" she asked, more curious than accusatory.

The other Maka frowned. "I could ask you the same thing."

"That's fair," she sighed. "I guess… you're the other me, huh?"

"Looks like it." The other Maka paused. "Are you… are we going back? Your friends and family are all waiting for you." She seemed almost hesitant. Shy. "They love you a lot. Nice people…"

Maka felt her chest ache. Her soul wanted to go home.  _ She  _ wanted to go home. And yet, she shook her head. "I can't. Not yet."

"Why?"

"I have to finish what I started. Asura is here, I need to get back before he kills everyone." She steeled her gaze and continued, "If I don't do this, then  _ you  _ might die."

"I heard that you killed Asura here. But do you really think you can do it twice? That sounds just… impossible."

"I can't let the kishin win in  _ any  _ world," Maka insisted. "I have to keep fighting. Once this is done, I can go home. I'm sorry."

The other Maka nodded. "I get it. This is important. But… don't leave your world forever. They don't deserve it."

Maka smiled, and offered her hand. "I promise I won't. And when you get back, you should consider going to the academy. I think there's a lot of people there you'd get along with."

The other Maka laughed, and took her hand. "You know what? I think I will."

* * *

Everything hurt. She was laying on something uncomfortable. Her chest was on fire, and her legs felt like jello. Forcing her eyes open, she saw the sky, and more importantly, Soul, who was looking away from her. Her hand twitched; he was holding it tight.

Feeling her move, Soul looked back at her. He lit up when he saw her eyes open. "You okay?"

"I've been worse," she coughed, forcing herself up. "I don't… think I have long."

"What? No, no, you'll be fine-"

"Not like that," she reassured. "I saw myself. I feel my soul trying to go back." She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the potion Eruka had given her. "We have to give it everything we've got, now."

"Are you sure?"

Maka was already downing the potion before Soul even finished his sentence. He stood, and she let him pull her up. When he was sure she was stable, Soul transformed, and she caught him.

The fight had moved down the street, and from what Maka could see, the group had made good progress. Asura looked worn down and overwhelmed.

Maka felt powerful with Soul in her hands. This was possible.

As she ran towards the ongoing battle, Maka and Soul shouted in unison, raising their resonance rate. The blade glowed, and soon changed shape, growing larger.  _ Witch Hunter. _

Patty spotted her and moved out of the way, giving Maka a clear shot to bury the magic blade into Asura's stomach. Stein and Marie soon joined, and Patty shot from afar. Kid grabbed onto Asura's shoulders and Maka could see them glowing white. The kishin struggled against the many attacks, and she saw cracks. 

Yet, it wasn't enough. Asura roared, and grabbed ahold of Soul once more. This time, however, he pulled the handle up towards him, and while it shouldn't have been possible, Maka saw it bend. Soul cried out in pain, and she began to panic.

She couldn't see him get hurt again. She couldn't see him die.

Asura's scream broke her out of her thoughts, and he let go of Soul. She stumbled back, afraid that his weapon form would break.

Maka spotted small black spikes coming out of Asura's chest and stomach. Soon after, a screaming blade pierced him through as well.

Crona, black blood wings spanning wide, yelled as they stabbed through Asura's stomach and cut away a chunk of flesh. 

In his rage, Asura whipped around and grabbed ahold of Crona with a white-knuckled grip, and sent a blast from Vajra directly into Crona's face. The light was blinding, and when Maka looked back, Crona was missing. A soul and a black puddle could be seen beyond Asura.

In his moment of distracting rage, Kid had gotten ahold of Asura, putting his hand into the stab wound Ragnarok had left. With a bright white light, Kid sent a blast of magic from within Asura. 

The cracks returned, glowing white, and with one last cowardly scream, Asura shattered. It was not as beautiful as when Maka killed him in her world, she decided, but the beauty didn't matter. He was gone. And the war was over.

There is a moment of peace until Maka feels the world spinning. Her chest  _ hurt _ . She thought she might die. Letting go of Soul, she collapsed, breathing heavily.

Soul detransformed and held her hands. "Hey, hey, you'll be okay. It's alright…"

She held tight to him and smiled. "Soul. You… You're going to do great. Academy or not. I know you will."

He chuckled. "Because you've seen it, right?"

"Exactly."

Everyone else joined soon after, kneeling quietly. She saw tears welling in Soul's eyes. "I hope-" his breath caught in his throat, "-I hope that… the other Maka will be willing to be my partner. I can't imagine working with anyone else."

"Maka," Kid spoke, voice even but eyes emotional. "I can't thank you enough for your help. You'll be alright."

"We shoulda come back sooner," Liz shrugs. "Sorry for doubting ya, Miss Alternate Dimension."

Patty frowns. "Don't forget us, okay? You brought us home."

Marie put a hand on Maka's knee, smiling. "You've done so much for a world that isn't even your own. Thank you, so, so much."

"Maka," Stein caught her attention, giving her a soft smile. "Let go."

With a final breath, she closed her eyes, and did just that.


	13. Home is Where the Soul is

The next thing she felt was sunlight on her face, and soft blankets. She heard voices muttering, and opened her eyes to see her own room.

Maka turned her head, not wanting to sit up yet, and saw a small crowd of people in her room.

Soul. Blackstar. Kid. Crona.

"Hey," she called, her voice feeling raw.

Still, she was heard, and all eyes were on her. She smiled. "I'm back."

No sooner had the words left her mouth before she was tackled by her partners, pelted with hugs and kisses and a good sum of tears. Maka couldn't stop herself from sobbing. She was finally home. With  _ her  _ Soul,  _ her  _ Blackstar,  _ her  _ Kid,  _ her _ Crona. Her  _ family _ .

"Fuck," she laughed, "there's no place like home, huh?"

She took a day to sleep, heal up mentally, let her soul settle in its home universe. Only then did she leave the apartment and ask to see Vermea.

The witch was still in custody, but after Blackstar had returned and explained what was happening in the other universe, she was no longer under threat of being killed. By her own choice, she had remained in the DWMA's prison.

The door was opened, and when the witch saw Maka, she smiled. "So you're back. I assume the loud one informed you of everything?"

"He did," she nodded, stepping into the cell. "I think you'll find that things are going much better over there."

"Oh?"

Maka recounted her adventure to Vermea, including that Kami was hoping to apologize to her, and how with Asura's defeat, things should be getting better.

At the end, Vermea wiped tears from her eyes and let out a breathy laugh. 

"Well, this started as an accident," she giggled, "but I couldn't be happier with the result. I can't thank you enough for all your help, and I'm sorry for all the trouble you've gone through."

Maka shrugged. "You can make it up to me by never doing that soul swap thing on me again," she held her hand over her chest. "I don't know if you've felt it, but that shit hurts."

Vermea laughed. "Alright, you've got a deal." Calming down, she drew a circle with her staff, and it glowed blue, filling in. She looked back to Maka for one, final time. "Thank you. Truly, you are a skilled young woman. I know you'll do well."

With that, she stepped into the circle, and disappeared. It vanished behind her, and the witch was gone; back in her own dimension.

Satisfied, Maka left the cell and met her partners and friends above ground, making plans for lunch.

* * *

Soul leaned against the wall, still catching his breath from the trek up the academy stairs. He made a mental note that sure a feat should  _ not  _ be done while wearing a binder. He'd have to bring it and change once he got up to the school.

Soon, Maka approached him, her hair half pulled-back in a ponytail, and the rest let loose. She had gotten it properly cut, so it was the same length all the way around, just above her shoulders.

He grinned as she came up to him, and they joined hands, walking into the classroom. Inside, Liz and Patty called to them, having saved the partners' seats nearby. Stein and Marie talked quietly at the front of the room, with Asger drawing on the chalkboard. 

When the bell rang, they kissed, and Marie took Asger out of the room. The students settled, and class began.

Elsewhere in the DWMA, Kid donned his father's mask in the Death Room, talking with Azusa about plans to rebuild the city, and to help the witch sanctuary in Alcatraz, as well as possibly locating and aiding others. 

At Kami's apartment, she sat with her old friend, and the two traded stories from the two dimensions. When Kami apologized for not believing Vermea, the witch smirked.

"Well," she shrugged, "I told you so."

Kami punched her playfully. "Yeah, yeah. You've always had me pinned, ever since we were kids."

"Eh, you're a bit of a chameleon. You blended in well, here, and in the other world, too. Nobody knew you were a witch, from what I can tell."

"I mean," Kami smirked, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do. That's something you never quite mastered."

"At least I have a fashion sense!"

"If that's what you want to believe, then I'll let you believe it."

"Why I oughta-"

The friends bickered, peaceful and reminiscent, until Maka and Soul came home. The family made dinner together, glad to be united, and stronger than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading my second ever resbang. i hope you enjoyed! i had fun writing it :>


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